Purple!
by Annzy Bananzy
Summary: Purple clothes, purple books, purple everything! Bakura hates the color purple because it reminds him of someone, and Marik hates remembering the nick-names a certain someone calls him because that reminds him of someone too. FULL SUMMARY INSIDE.
1. Purple Boy!

When I first started this, I imagined it to be a one-shot in which Bakura would complain about how whenever he sees purple he thinks of Marik and his heart beats faster. I would make him see purple a lot, make him angst and tell us about his life, and then Marik would show up and *insert fluffy, yaoi scene here.* Sooo… yeah. Hope you enjoy this!

Summary: Purple clothes, purple books, purple everything! Bakura hates the color purple because it reminds him of someone, and Marik hates remembering the nick-names a certain someone calls him because that reminds him of someone too. They're both avoiding someone because of the things they hate. Unfortunately, they come face to face with these things inside their brothers' house! (Thanks to their brothers' scheming). So what do purple books have to do with anything? Read to find out! (Sucky summary FTW!) Thiefshipping, yaoi, and fluffy!

* * *

"_Every time I see the color purple… every, single time… my heart beats just a little bit faster…"_

* * *

I groaned as I walked outside and saw a giant billboard advertising purple hair-care products against a violet background. Right on cue, a familiar face popped into my head and my stupid, freaking heart sped up. Why did it have to be purple? _Why?_ Why couldn't it be blue, or red, _anything_ but purple!

I turn away from the stupid, purple billboard, imagining it going up in flames and burning to a crisp (but of course that doesn't happen), and walk through the town, bored out of my freaking mind. I start kicking a rock that I find off the sidewalk. Totally third-grade, I know, but I'm so _bored!_ My house was crystal clean (thanks to a little help from my twin, Ryou, heaven knows I couldn't have cleaned that thing by myself), there wasn't any good books to read (not that I read that much anyway), and I didn't want to hang out with any of my friends, because most likely…

Let's just say, that the reason I hate the color purple is because it reminded me of a certain someone. A certain someone who happened to be my friend, my _best_ friend, and would most likely be hanging out with my _other_ friends. And, let's just say, that I don't want to meet and/or talk to that purple boy yet. So, hanging out with any of my friends is out of the question because they'd probably call purple boy and ask him to come along.

Stupid purple!

I just kicked the rock under a parked, purple mini-van, though I now wished that the rock had been a bit larger and that instead I had thrown the rock as hard as I could at the offending purple vehicle. As it was, the small, white, rock was under the car and there were no other one's nearby, so I walked away as my eye twitched. _Ah well_, I thought_, at lease the _sky_ isn't purple…_ That would really suck if that were true… I keep walking, hoping that I'll cross paths with something interesting soon because as I said before, _I'm so bored!_

I flip my phone out as it vibrates once - meaning a text message. I flip it open and see that Ryou texted me saying, "_Where r u?_"

"_Walking around town. Y?_" I text back, wondering why he wanted to know.

He replies quickly with: "_U promised ud come help me pack 2day!_"

I groaned. That's right, my brother was moving in with his boyfriend, Melvin, today. For your information, Melvin is purple boy's older brother… hopefully he won't be there, he looks _waaay_ too much like his brother for my liking - _they're_ practically twins themselves. I text back quickly, "_Sry, 4got, b there in a sec._" I start walking towards my twin's apartment building, thinking that at least I'll have _something_ to curb my boredom - even if it is work. I was surprised though when my phone vibrated again - Ryou texted me saying, "_U better! Especially since I helped u clean ur house!_" I roll my eyes, he was going to hold that one over me for a while.

I suppose at this time you're wondering how old we are, well I'm 27 (do the math for Ryou), Purple Boy is also 27, and Melvin is 29 (he constantly brags about being the oldest in the group…). Most of the other friends I have are 27 as well, though one looks like he's still 16, pointy-haired freak… it's weird too because his twin actually looks his age.

I suppose you're also wondering why I have a house and Ryou has an apartment, well he didn't want to buy an actual _house_ since he declared he would be "way too big and lonely," so he bought an apartment instead and even got himself a roommate. I just bought a house (small though… and still paying for it… a thousand bucks every month… it's bloody annoying) because I don't really care if it's empty. I'm perfectly fine by myself.

And then Purple Boy showed up.

I growl as I see a kid walk past with a purple balloon - causing my freaking heart to speed up again… _why_ did purple boy have to wear a purple hoodie everyday? And _why_ did that purple hoodie just happen to be sleeveless and cut just above his midriff? And _why_ did he not like to wear a _shirt under that freaking purple hoodie?-!_ Though not that I'm complaining about the last part… Wait, what am I saying, _wear some proper clothes you fruity Purple Boy!_ I should scream that at him… Maybe then he'd wear a freaking shirt. At least his brother didn't wear purple, he generally wore any black article of clothing he could find, which was fine by me - I love black, even though my hair is as white as freshly-fallen-snow and my skin is as pale as Snow White's. Freaking genetics… but I'm not an albino because my eyes _are_ brown, granted, sometimes they attain a little red tint when I'm mad or excited, but… Enough about my looks, another freaking purple sign stating there was a _Garage Sale!_ straight ahead in - guess what - _darker purple writing_.

Damn it all to bloody hell.

* * *

I show up at my brother's apartment building and ring his number at the front door. I soon hear a buzz and open the door, walking up three flights of stairs (the stupid elevator is being renovated) and appearing at my brother's room - number 303. I walk inside the small room, complete with mini-kitchen, mini-sitting room with a flat-screen TV, and a mini hallway leading to the bathroom and the two small rooms. There's a mountain of boxes blocking the TV though, and my brother is right in front of them, looking at them all as if he might have forgotten something.

"Um…" I say, causing him to turn around and beam at me with that somehow-still-innocent face of his.

"Bakura!" he said, for that's my name, "There you are! Here, can you tell me if I'm forgetting anything? I can't help but feel that I am…"

"… It looks to me like you're all packed, what do you need me for?"

"To help me transport it all of course!"

I groaned. "You mean we're going to your boyfriend's house?"

Ryou pouted. "Helping me move insinuates that you're helping me transport it all!"

"Why isn't _Melvin_ helping you with this?"

"He's helping Marik with something else."

"Freaking Purple Boy…" I curse at his name. Yes, Purple Boy's name is Marik, but I refuse to call him that.

Ryou giggled. "You still call him that?" he asked amused, "Geez, get over your crush already Bakura!"

"It is not a freaking crush!" I yell at him, a tint of pink going into my cheeks. But that's from rage, I'm not… _blushing_ or anything stupid like that. "Weren't you forgetting something?"

"Right! But I _think_ I got it all…" he taps his lip for a few seconds before his face brightens. "Oh! I remember!" he says rushing back into one of the bedrooms. I roll my eyes at him - no one should be so energetic all the time. He soon came back in with a - guess what? - _purple_ leather-bound book. Freaking hell! _WHY?_ Sure enough, my stupid heart kicks in again. "What the hell is that…?" I growl murderously - I am freaking sick of all the damn purple around here!

Ryou smiled at me with a look that I knew all too well - he was daydreaming about _Melvin_ again. Ugh, for once I wish he could _shut up about that guy!_ Yes, I understand that he's "the best boyfriend ever" and that "he can be really sweet when he wants to be!" and that Ryou "loves him~!" now could he please just _shut up about it?_ God! You know, the thing is that he's kind of _psycho_ and that one time he told me that Ryou 'changed him' and all that crap… Yeeeeaaaaah, you tell me that at one point you wanted to see the world erupt in flames and the next you say you're a changed man because of my brother? I don't think so psycho! And the other thing is that Ryou _knows_ I don't really like Melvin, and yet he still tries to make us get along. (The other thing is that he scares that bajeezus out of me because sometimes he gets a… _murderous_ glint in his eyes and it's even scarier than mine!)

He cuddled the blasted purple object against his chest, and it was then that I noticed it had a slightly darker purple half-heart on in. It ended at what appeared to be in the middle of a heart straight at the edges of the book. "This," Ryou finally answers me, back from "Melvin-land," "Is a book that Melvin gave me…"

"… Oookaaay," I say after he doesn't continue, "so what's in_side_ the stupid purple book?"

"It's not stupid!" Ryou all but screamed at me, "it's… well…" he flushed red, which _immediately_ made me think it was something bad, or kinky, but it's really the same thing in my opinion. "… Inside Melvin wrote some… things…" he practically whispered.

"Ryou, tell me what's inside that thing before my mind wanders with that crappy explanation… too late, but still tell me."

Ryou looked up with what I like to call, "Bambi eyes" and said, "I-it's not any of the things you're thinking!" he quickly assured, "He just wrote… everything he likes about me in here… and how I've helped him… and he added some… cute pictures of us."

Oh great, it was worse than bad and kinky combined - it was _romantic!_ Blurg… "Whatever… how could you forget that thing?"

"I put it under my bed for safe-keeping, but you know that phrase - "Out of sight, out of mind"! I just forgot about it…"

"Why does it have half a heart on it…?" my curiosity couldn't help but ask.

Ryou flushed more, making me roll my eyes. The thing is, our porcelain skin highlights any and all blushes, so my _light pink ting of __**rage**_ probably looked red… And right now, he looked more red than a flipping tomato - though he probably would have just been a tomato if we didn't have such pale skin… You know someone asked us if we were vampires once? Crazy right, I mean I could imagine _me_ biting someone and drinking blood, but Ryou? He'd deem it 'impolite' and probably starve himself to death, if he could even handle the transformation in the first place… But moving on.

"Um… that's 'cause I wrote some things in a book just like this," he flipped it over, revealing the same sort of half-heart on the other side. "When you hold the books together at the ends, it forms a heart…"

I groaned. "Can we please leave before I hurl from all this romance? I didn't even think Melvin was capable of such a thing! In my opinion he just wants you in his bed -"

"Bakura!" Ryou yelled at me, his face so red that now it was turning… purple… damn it! _WHY!_

I closed my eyes and started rubbing my forehead as Purple Boy's face popped in my head, making my heart go again. As if the stupid purple book he was holding wasn't enough!

"Whatever…" I mumble, "Let's just put all these god-damn boxes in your car…"

"Right!" Ryou said, his face slowly going back to it's normal color. He put the bloody, purple, half-heart book on the top of a box filled with clothes gently, his eyes revealing that he hoped nothing bad happened to it. What can happen to a freaking book in a box full of clothes? My brother worries too much…

Anyway, we pack all the boxes in his _blue_, not purple thank goodness, mini-van (he claims he feels safer in a mini-van) and start driving to his boyfriend's house. I sit in the front passenger seat, still bored… Ryou obviously notices because he asks, "What were you doing walking around anyway?"

"Trying to stop being bored."

Ryou smiled. "If you're so bored, go see Marik."

"Why would I go see that purple-wearing freak?" I snap at my twin.

"Because you two are so natural together it's like you're already married."

"What do you mean, "already married"? We're not even going out!" I yell, my face going red again. From anger, not from anything else.

Ryou laughed. "Are you sure about that 'Kura? You argue like there's no tomorrow!"

"That's because we can never agree on anything!"

"Oh please, you agree on _everything_, from the best type of music down to your favorite type of movie_._ You just get into meaningless fights about nothing, just like a married couple -"

"_Shut up about marriage!_" I scream, my face going redder. Still, from the anger.

Ryou giggled. "All right, fine. Be in denial~! But just so you know," Ryou grinned mischievously, "I still know where you keep you journal~!"

My face paled. "What are you talking about? I don't have a journal."

"Oh?" Ryou asked knowingly, "Then what do you call that _purple_ book you have buried in your desk-drawer?"

My face burns, this time from embarrassment. That's right, I'm not ashamed to admit it (though I am embarrassed). "How… How did you find out about it…?" I ask quietly, hoping beyond hope that he had remembered to be polite and hadn't read any of it. Though I knew that this was the only type of situations where Ryou _wouldn't_ act polite and be respectful of my privacy. Call it a sibling weakness or whatever, but the idea of your brother keeping a journal…? I mean, what could he possibly be hiding! Must find out…

"Oh please, I grew up with you 'Kura!" Ryou said, "You always liked keeping a journal, and you _always_ buried it in your desk drawer. It wasn't that hard to find."

It was silent in the car before I asked, "… Did you… read any of it…?"

Ryou grinned. "Oh, just a _few_ pages. That I memorized. Want to hear me recite them?"

At this point, I don't know if my face paled or flamed an even bigger red. I think it paled before enflaming, but I'm still not sure. "Please don't…" I say, even using my least-favorite word, _please_.

" 'Dear Journal,' " Ryou started reciting anyway, the epitome of happiness, " 'Today Ryou _finally _introduced me to his boyfriend after months of talk,' " my face grew hot - I remembered this entry. I remember it oh so well. " 'It turns out, that psycho-pyromaniac has a brother that looks just like him, but they're not twins. How messed up is that? I'll just call them twins - makes it easier. Anyways, remember when I said that Melvin was not attractive, like, at all? And that I wish Ryou would just break up with him?' Not gonna happen by the way 'Kura," Ryou put in for my information, which I rolled my eyes to. " 'Well… I may have to take that back because his brother looks… interesting… of course, that's what I'd say if I was talking to someone else, but since this is _my freaking journal_ and I can write whatever I want in here, I'll say _exactly_ what I think.' "

I glare at Ryou. "If you finish that entry, so help me I will -" But Ryou, completely ignoring me, continues, and his recitation of my _private journal_ makes me shut my mouth and makes my face turn even more red.

" 'His hair is hypnotizing,' " _Why did I have to say hypnotizing?_ I think to myself, covering my face with my hands. " 'His smile is bright like the sun,' " _WHY?-!_ " 'And his personality… well, while it annoys me, I find his sarcastic, arrogant, cocky, slightly-childish habits to be rather…' "

"Don't you _dare_ finish that -" I warn him, but of course he ignores me as if I hadn't said anything at all. " '… sexy,' " he finishes. All the while through that verbal torture I'm thinking to myself, _Shit! Why did I write that all down?-?_ Though I can't help but answer myself with, _Because it was meant to be for me and only me! And because you're a descriptive writer. _And if this wasn't peachy keen enough, we passed that freaking purple billboard again. Life just really likes to mess with me doesn't it?

"That entry shouldn't count," I said, my face looking like it had a sunburn, "that was when I first met the guy and didn't really know how bitchy and annoying he _could_ be. I swear, he acts like a freaking girl sometimes with how quickly his moods change…"

Ryou smiled. "All right, I seem to recall an entry closer to today…"

I narrow my eyes at him. "Ryou, just how much did you memorize?"

"Well… I _read_ the whole thing, and only memorized the best parts." I groan. Translation: "I memorized the whole freaking book."

Ryou just laughed at my obvious embarrassment and said, "You wrote it! I'm just reading something you wrote, isn't that your profession anyways?" It was true, I was a novel writer. But I'm not famous or anything, I've just written a few horror novels that might become movies - no big deal. To help with money though, I also play guitar and sing at a club on the weekends. My twin works at a five-star Italian restaurant as the head chef because he's that damn good of a cook. Melvin better count himself blessed… That guy works - guess where - at a demolition company. Wow, big shocker. Oh! This is the funniest part. It's so funny… I'm laughing just thinking about it! Purple Boy works… (HA HA HA!) he works at a fashion agency - designing clothes. It cracks me up!

Although my fun is ruined when Ryou decides to continue with his torture.

" 'Dear Journal,' " Ryou began, clearly enjoying himself too much. I glare at him, but I'm also wondering which entry he'll spout. " 'I swear that Marik wears the same god damn purple hoodie every single freaking day. Or at least every day that I see him, which is every day so never mind. I mean, honey, it's obvious you're gay, you don't need the added purple. The jewelry and eyeliner is far fruity enough. Though I guess I'm not complaining too much, since it's a sleeveless hoodie that ends just above his midriff and he doesn't like to wear a shirt under it. I wonder if he realizes that everyone (boys and girls alike) stares at his chest - ' "

"I still wonder that," I cut in, "And that entry's not closer to today's, that's around the same time as the other one."

Ryou smiled, "I know, but I love this one."

I feel my eye start to twitch, "It's like your saying your favorite line from a novel…"

"I am!" I face palm myself. Should've seen that one coming.

"I thought that purple book you found this morning was your favorite novel?" I ask with a playful smirk.

He flushes. "W-well…" he stutters, "That's not really a n-novel… it's more of a… memory book."

I shake my head slightly - oh Ryou. Poor, blushing, young, wonderful Ryou, why did Melvin have to corrupt you? That's the reason I'll kill him more than anything…

"_Anyway_," Ryou cut in, " 'There's one thing that both he and I agree on with our whole hearts - our hatred for Melvin. Apparently, he's not only a horrible person, he's a horrible brother.' Why must you say such mean things about him anyway?" Ryou asked me. His switching form my journal to his own thoughts were starting to confuse me… But I glare at him anyways. "_Those words were not meant for you to hear_," I seethe at him, "And you should hear the stories Marik tells about that guy. Did you know he tried to carve into Marik's back with a hot knife? He was lucky his sister showed up in time…"

Ryou shook his head. "I will not listen to you!"

I roll my eyes, Ryou just will not admit that Melvin used to be messed up. Even when he tells him _himself_. "_It doesn't matter what you were!_" Ryou always says, "_It only matters what you are now!_"

"Skipping all the stuff about Melvin -" Ryou started, but I interrupted with, "How about we skip _all_ the entries?" But of course he doesn't listen. " 'I've also found out that Marik drives a red motorcycle, if _that's_ not sexy, I don't know what is.' "

I groaned. "Why do you have to do this…?" I ask him, knowing that the only way he'll stop is if he's killed. And since he's driving and I don't really feel like killing my brother, that's not really an option.

"To get you out of denial!" Ryou tells me.

I roll my eyes. "You're just saying all the few good things I've said about him," I complain, "what about the million bad things? Like this one: 'Dear Journal, I saw a movie with all of my friends today (surprisingly, Ryou and Melvin came too, and they even promised to actually _watch_ the movie this time!) and, guess what? Marik complained throughout the _entire thing_. God he's so annoying, he commented on _everything_, from the dialogue to the outfits to the freaking _food_ they ate. "It's so unhealthy!" he claimed. Although from this I did find out he's a vegetarian, never would have guessed…' " I don't finish my sentence as my face goes red again. Crap, I forgot about that part…

Obviously, Ryou remembers it too because he smiles and finishes for me, " '… never would have guessed, seeing as how muscular he is.' See! Even when you're saying something bad about him you still say something good!"

"Well _excuse me_ for noticing cold hard _facts!_" I yell at him. "Come on, _both_ of those Egyptians are muscular! You should know about Melvin's muscles especially…" I comment coldly, causing Ryou to flush again.

"We don't do that type of thing!" Ryou hissed at me.

"Yeah yeah, whatever…"

"I swear we don't!"

"I believe you," I said in a voice that clearly said I didn't believe him one bit. How could I with what Melvin's told me…? Another reason I want to murder him with a rusty carving knife.

Ryou huffed. "Well, at least _I_ can admit when I like a guy."

I groan. "You're still on this?"

"I was never off it!"

"Whatever."

Ryou took his eyes off the road for just a few seconds to glare at me, then turned his attention right back to driving. "I think my favorite entry is this one: 'Dear Journal,' " my mind races trying to think of what entry might be his favorite, " 'I was taking my usual, forced midnight stroll around the block to rid myself of my insomnia when I ran into Marik.' " _Oh no,_ I think, my heart speeding up rapidly with this memory. I swear, my face must have been hotter than the freaking _sun_, this is worse than if I saw everything in a tint of purple…! My mind went ahead of Ryou's recitation as I remembered this night for myself:

* * *

"_Stupid insomnia…" I muttered to myself as I walked around my block. An occasional car passed by, but not many. It's not like this was New York City or anything. I was just about to head back to my house after another failed attempt of trying to tire myself out when I saw Marik not too far up ahead. Since I was already wide awake (and since whatever words that would spout out of that boy's mouth would be far more interesting than any dream I could ever have [if I actually managed to get to sleep]), I decided to go talk to him. "Hey Marik!" I call. _

_He appeared to be in a daze, because he gave a tiny, startled jump and turned towards me with a cute, slightly-surprised look on his face. He quickly straightened himself out though, his face returning to the more natural, arrogant-yet-childish look I was used to. "Hey 'Kura," he said casually, "what's -"_

"_WHAT did you just call me…?" I ask low and dangerous._

_He seems shocked by the amount of anger in my voice. "Um…" he starts, "I called you 'Kura… Why?"_

"_Only Ryou can call me that!" I tell him._

_Marik scrunches up his eyebrows. "Why?" he asks genuinely._

"_Because I grew up with him and _he's_ the one who thought of it. Come up with your own bloody nick-name!"_

_Marik smirked, "But 'Kura just sounds _soooo_ cute~!" I blush a little this time because it sounded like he actually thought that…_

"_Just don't call me that, okay?"_

_He rolled his eyes. "What the heck can I call you then? Bakura's getting too long to say - I like two-syllable names."_

_I shrugged. "I don't know. Come up with something, you're always saying how you're 'so smart,' even though everyone knows you're _not_," I taunt him, simply because it's fun when we argue and banter._

_He glares at me. "Well at least I don't look like a freaking albino," he retorts back._

_I chuckle. "I'll take looking like an albino over looking like a gay boy any day fruitcake."_

_His fists clench and his teeth start gnashing - I can tell he's seething. This is a topic of which he's most sensitive - his looks. "For the last freaking time, _I do not look gay!_" _

"_But you _are_ gay…?" I ask, since it was never _really_ clarified, I just kind of assumed he was… you know, in the closet._

_He hesitates, his mouth slightly open. He closes it and scrunches up his eyebrows, stuffing his hands in his pockets and avoiding my gaze. I can tell he's having an internal debate on what to tell me, when he says, "Yeah…" _

_I stare at him. I can tell by his tone of voice that that was hard for him to admit, has he been denying it all this time…? Why would he admit that to _me_ of all people? Someone who will just use it against him later? _

"_What about you?" Marik asked, still avoiding my gaze, "What's your preference?"_

_I blink at him. Preference…? Honestly, I never labeled myself that way. I was attracted to whoever I was attracted to, male or female, and I liked who I liked, male of female. I shrugged, "Bi I guess."_

_He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "You guess?"_

"_Never really thought about it." _

"_But, surely you just _know_…?" he said, his face going red. Hm… for someone who was supposedly in the closet just a few short seconds ago, this conversation must be awkward for him… I stop thinking this, however, when his face brightens and he says, "It's funny, don't you think?"_

_I have absolutely no idea what the hell's running through that random head of his at this time, so I ask, "What?"_

"_That two sets of brothers are… gay. It's kind of funny."_

_I crack a smile. "That is pretty funny… What do you think homophobes would think of the situation?" Now, I know for a fact he hates homophobes. We were out one day while Ryou and Melvin were holding hands and someone told them, and I quote, "Get a room fags!" and Marik yelled at them like he wanted to kill the guy. Which he probably did. _

"_I have no idea… they'd probably just yell at us or something and tell us to be 'normal.' "_

"_There's no such thing as 'normal,' " I comment, "that's a hoax to make slightly weirder people to feel special and to make others fit in."_

_Marik laughed. "You've thought that our haven't you?"_

"_Maybe."_

_Marik laughed again and then stared at the stars. "You know," he says, "I usually have a hard time making friends…" I raise my eyebrow at him, but he's not looking at me so it's wasted on the air. Why is he telling me all this stuff today? My thoughts halt when he turns to look at me with a… honestly, I don't know what kind of look is on his face, it's sort of a cross between happy and… flirty. "People usually think I'm too annoying or arrogant… or sarcastic, but you don't seem to mind," he smirks again, obviously getting ready to insult me and start another petty argument, "probably since you're worse than me in all three categories."_

_I smile at him and bow graciously. "I thank you for the compliment dear sir, say anymore and I may faint."_

_Marik laughed at my antics. "That wasn't a compliment and you know it."_

"_So I can't take it as one?" _

"_No."_

"_I beg to differ! I can take anything the way I want it to."_

_Marik opened his mouth to retort back, when all of a sudden he stopped short and his face shot up in flames. He turned away from me. I just stared at him, wondering what the heck just happened to make him blush like that. "What's wrong?" I ask him, greatly curious._

"_N-nothing," he stammered in the way I'm used to hearing from Ryou, so I _know_ it's _something_. "I was just thinking… you _only_ take things the way you want…?"_

_I scrunch up my eyebrows in confusion, wondering where this could possibly be going. "Um… yes, why?"_

"_I was just thinking…" he turns to look at me, and I have to fight the urge not to blush myself - he looked so dang adorable right now! … Did I just say adorable? That never gets out… "How would you take it if I…"_

"_If you _what?_" I ask him, getting impatient. I am not a patient man, at all. _

"_If I… kissed you."_

_I can feel heat slowly crawl its way up my neck - his question caught me _completely_ off guard! Where the hell did that even come from? "Well…" I say, simply to get rid of the awkward silence that had come up. I start rubbing the back of my head. "It uh… depends…" _

"_On what?" he asks quickly, probably wishing he wouldn't have said anything. But he also sounds a little… hopeful. No, I am not going there, I am _not_ getting my hopes up…! Not that there _are_ any hopes to get up in the first place… It's just… metaphorically speaking._

"_On, um…" my face goes entirely red and I look down to avoid his eyes, "On… well, how _long_ it is firstly, and… uh…" _This is so freaking awkward!_ I think to myself in between this, "how… _deep_ it is, so to speak…"_

"_Well…" Marik says, rubbing the back of his head, "I kind of consider you my best friend 'Kura… Er, I mean _Ba_kura."_

"_You know what?" I decide on the spot, "You can call me 'Kura. It sounds so natural when you say it." _

_He smiled at me, his face still a bit red. Mine however, was still in flames. " 'Best Friend 'Kura.' It has a nice ring, don't you think?"_

'Boyfriend 'Kura' would sound better_, my mind immediately comes up with, not helping my blush any. We stand there, looking at nothing in particular, when Marik decides to grab my hand. _

_It's a tentative touch, almost as if he expected me to pull my hand back in horror and run away screaming or something. Which, I'll admit, crossed my mind… but out of shock, not horror. In no way was I horrified… I was actually kind of… I don't know… happy…? I guess… _

_His hand was warm, and soft, and felt nice… and I was sure it smelled like some sort of body spray or body wash or whatever, and most likely some seductive, sweet, fruit smell. Or lavender, or violet, or anything else that's purple. He turned to look at me, cocking his head to the side slightly. He looked like he wanted to ask me a question, but probably second-guessed it based on the fact that I wasn't looking at him and my face was probably lit up like a Christmas tree. Thank god that the night sky concealed at least some of my face… WHY did he decide to do this _now_…? _

_As seconds turns to minutes and he still hasn't let go, I turn my head slightly. He turns his head back to me, since he had been looking forward, probably waiting for me to respond. I hesitate for a long time, wondering what I should say or even _do_. On one hand, I would really just _love_ to stand there like an idiot and hold his hand for the rest of the night (no matter how much I hate to admit it), but on the other hand, I _reeeaaallly_ want to try what Marik had suggested earlier and kiss him. But so many things are holding me back…_

_What if he doesn't like it? What if the idea just popped in his head and he just said it without actually meaning anything? What if he doesn't like me, and just wanted to see if I did to decide if he should avoid me or not…? What if he'll be horrified afterwards and never talk to me again? I can _not_ handle that. What if he's just testing something and doesn't know for sure? Has he even kissed anyone before? I don't want to steal his first kiss! _

_But then my mind brings up the fact that… what if he _does_ like the kiss…? _

… _I think my mind exploded with all the positive outcomes that rushed into my brain all at once. But I'm still hesitant to go for it… I don't deal with rejection well, just ask Ryou. _

_All of my thoughts (positive and negative) are stopped once Marik says, "So… what're you thinking about…?"_

_I look down. "Well…" I find myself saying, "Like you said before… I consider you my best friend too…"_

"… _Oh…" Marik said, releasing my hand almost immediately. I find myself wishing he hadn't, but I'm frozen and can't reach forward and claim his warm hand again. "Well um…" I can read the atmosphere fairly well, so I could tell he was getting ready to bolt any second. I need to stop him…! _

_Just as he starts walking away (which would have no doubt turned into a run once he was farther away), I grab his arm and say. "Hey… best friends kiss… right…?"_

_Now he's frozen, thinking over what I said. With is back still turned to me, he says, "I'm not so sure about that one 'Kura…"_

_Every time he says 'Kura, it's like my heart gets warmer… or some corny crap like that. "Well…" I say, not wanting him to leave, "why not?"_

_He turns and looks at me. "Wouldn't it just make things awkward?"_

"_No," I answer almost too quickly, "it doesn't have to mean anything…" He still looks doubtful, so I say, "If it helps, we could just… do it and then pretend it never happened…"_

_Marik seemed to ponder this, and I almost expected him to decline and run off (which is why I still had a firm grip on his muscular arm) but then he moved towards me, wrapped his arms around my neck, and kissed me. _

_Obviously, he had taken me by surprise, so it took me a few seconds to kiss him back. Since I didn't know how long this was going to last for, I made the best of it and wrapped my arms around his waist, closing my eyes as I did so - pressing back into him with all I had. I sensed that he… _wanted_ this, wanted _me_, and I was all too happy to comply to his wishes. _

_You know, I'll admit, I had dreamed of kissing Marik (I usually woke up happy on those days) but it was _nothing_ compared to the real thing. His lips were oh so soft and very moist somehow (mine were always partly chapped and dry), and they were so warm and inviting… and luscious, might as well throw that adjective in there too. As soon as our lips had made contact (even if it had shocked me and taken a while to respond), a shiver of pleasure went up my spine and I felt… overjoyed, proud, complete, like I was floating on a cloud, or like I was dreaming. I wanted more, so much more, I wanted to go deeper than this._

_Just as I was about to ask for entrance, he seemed to snap out of… _something_, and he pulled back and stared me right in the eyes which I had opened as soon as the lip contact had ended. His face lit up like the Fourth of July, and he immediately stepped out of our embrace, making my heart have a sort of… longing, if you will, wanting him to come back. He coughed nervously. "Sorry…" he said, "I just… um…"_

_I silence him by stepping forward and putting my finger to his mouth. I lean in slowly and kiss him gently, hoping that this time he'll stay longer, even if it's just a little bit… _

_I'll tell you, I could easily become addicted to this happy, floaty, dreamy feeling. Now if only this would happen often enough to satisfy my cravings… _

_This time around I can tell he's more hesitant. Before, that was obviously on impulse and he hadn't been thinking properly, but now that he _was_ thinking properly, and he was staying (even if it wasn't as hearty as before), it made that good feeling inside me grow even more, sending more pleasurable shivers up my spine and making my kiss Marik harder. I can still tell he's hesitant because I can feel a sort of wall he's instinctively put up, but I can also feel it weakening. I put my hands up and gently hold his face, weakening his defense more. I start running one of my hands through his hair gently, sensually, making him shiver as well and forcing his wall to crumble completely. He wrapped his arms around me again, pressing us closer and deepening the kiss even more. I gently licked his bottom lip, making him shiver again but also making him open his mouth. Our tongues… let's say, _argued_ for a little bit about who was going to visit who, but eventually mine won and I explored the wonderful world of Marik's mouth…_

_That was when he realized just how far this had gone and tore apart from me. He backed up a couple steps, his face redder than I had ever seen it, and he seemed… almost regretful. _

_I think then my heart shattered. Not that it had been completely whole or 'normal' to begin with, but still. Now it was no more. _

"_I-I'm sorry…" he said once again. I wish he would stop saying that, is _he_ sorry we kissed? Because I'm certainly not… I mean, not that I _like_ him or anything, I'm just attracted to…_

_Oh who am I kidding, I love this boy. But there's no way I'm ever admitting that, not even to myself ever again. _

"_I should…" Marik started again. Now I start to get angry, I could tell he was enjoying that kiss just as much as me, and he has the gall to act like he _didn't? _Oh hell no! _

"_Coward!" I yell at him._

_He stops and looks at me, obviously confused by my outburst. "What?" he asks._

"_You heard me!" I say, no longer yelling but still pissed, "I know you enjoyed that… so don't be a _coward_ and pretend you didn't feel anything!"_

_Marik blinked at me a couple times, but then his face turned angry. "You said that 'best friends kiss,' " he said, obviously trying to control himself from lashing out at me, "_You_ said that it doesn't have to mean anything, and _**you said**_that we could just do it and pretend it never happened! So don't go calling me a coward when you provided a way out for yourself too!"_

"_Yeah, but I didn't plan on taking it."_

"_What is that supposed to mean?"_

"_What do you _think_ it means?"_

_He looks at me, pondering what I had just said. At this point, he probably knows that I like him, and if he doesn't then he's just in denial or he's dumber than a box full of rocks. "I just…" Marik said, frustrated with himself, "I can't deal with all this right now! It's too much!"_

"_So you admit you felt something!" _

"_What?" Marik said, his face going red again, "I-I never said that!" _

"_But you implied it!"_

"_Well…" Marik said, searching for something to say, "Why does it matter to you?" he spat, his rage bubbling over, "Don't you always say how annoying I am all the time? Don't you always say how a 'princess' like me only _wishes_ he could be with someone like you?-? Don't you always say how if you had to spend more than a day with me then you'd go insane and kill yourself?-!"_

"_I didn't mean any of those things and you know it!"_

"_I can take it any way I want!" Marik screamed, using my words against me. I'm silent, shocked by the fact that he actually believes I was _serious_ about any of that stuff - it was just some of the stuff we say during out stupid arguments… none of it was serious, I thought he knew that, I thought he knew how I felt…_

"_I'm gonna go…" Marik said, walking away. "Wait Marik," I call, making him stop. "… I guess, if you _really_ want to…" I can't believe I'm about to say this… "We can just… forget this ever happened." _

_Marik paused, turned around and said. "I might… take you up on that…" I think I saw unshed tears glisten in his eyes, but I'm not sure, "I just… can't deal with this right now 'Kura," oh the cruelty of using my nick-name in this situation… "I… need some time to think…"_

"… _Take all the time you need…" I say quietly, but just loud enough so he can hear. _

_He looks away. "Thanks… 'Kura…" "On one condition," I continue as I walk towards him again. He looks at me questioningly before I peck him on the lips again and smirk at him, enjoying how red his face goes. I keep my face close to his as I say, "You have to dream of me tonight, and I'll dream of you."_

_He blushes like a tomato farm. "Wh… What kind of condition is that? How would you be able to tell if I even kept it or not?"_

"_Because I trust you Marik," I say, my lips still provocatively close to his, "and because of tonight… that never happened…"_

_Marik clamped his mouth tight together, then loosened it to say, "Right. Never happened…" he walks away, but stops after a few feet and turns around with a cocky smirk - his previous blush not yet gone. "I think I'll have sweet dreams tonight," he says before turning and running off. _

_I stare after him, wishing that we _wouldn't_ just forget about this night, but… he needs time to think… and… _

_Even though I actually _want_ to be patient with Marik, I just can't help but feel angry about how he rejected me like that… He enjoyed that freaking kiss! I know he did! Why can't he admit that? Isn't that proof enough that we like each other…? What does he need to think about? Is he still partly in the closet? (Who am I kidding, he's so deep in the closet he's practically in Narnia). As more questions and wonders start to bubble up with rage inside me, I clench my fists, I grind my teeth, I feel bile rise in my mouth… and then I yell this to the sky, "You no-good, girly, heart-crushing, in-denial, confusing, cowardly, _princess**fruitcake!**_" I briefly hope he's out of ear-shot before continuing, "You idiotic, annoying, arrogant, childish, argumentative _**jerk!**_ You… You Jewelry-wearing, make-up'd, vegetarian, _**Purple Boy!**_" I stand there panting, feeling only slightly better. I then turn around and head home to see if I can salvage some sleep for tonight. Ironically, I _did_ dream of Marik that night, of kissing him again. And since now I had experience doing it for real, the dream was a million times better than any past ones._

_And actually, that's how I got into the habit of calling him Purple Boy. It was all because of that night…_

* * *

"It's just like a romance novel!" Ryou gushed at the end of his recitation, "I mean, he says you're his best friend, but it's _obvious_ that he thinks of you as more too! But he just doesn't want to ruin his best friend relationship, since I'm pretty sure he's never had one before and -"

"Ryou," I interrupt, though I'm still a little dazed from the memory, "I understand how you analyze romance novels and their relationships and such, but seriously, this is _my life_ you're talking about. Besides," I say as I lean on the car door and look out the window. There's no blush on my face anymore, because now I feel sort of depressed, "I think he forgot about that night… just like he said he would. Like it never happened…"

"Why do you think that?" Ryou asked.

I looked at him. "Because, he doesn't act any different around me. And you know how people refer to the thing they said never happened? He doesn't do that either…"

Ryou put his thinking face on, which looked sort of like a pout with his bottom lip slightly over his upper. "Well… I guess he _does_ just need time…"

I chuckled. "But you know, if it wasn't for that night, I never would have started calling him "Purple Boy," and I'm _confident_ he knows that, because the next day I started calling him that…

"_Purple Boy!" I yelled at Marik the next day as soon as I saw him._

_He gave me a confused look, not unlike the one he gave me last night when he first saw me. "Purple Boy?" he asked, "Where did that come from?"_

_I glared at him, grinding my teeth. I was still pissed off form last night. I cross my arms angrily, "Oh, I just thought of it _last night_. What did _you_ do last night?" I know I told him we didn't have to bring it up… but I'm just _really_ mad. _

_He scratched his head as if he didn't have a clue what I was talking about, which pissed me off even more. "Um…" he said, "Slept? And then I took a walk, but it's kind of blurry after that," he avoided my eyes, which told me that he _did_ in fact remember, but he just wasn't going to acknowledge it. EVER. _

_I feel my eye start to twitch. "Oh really, have pleasant dreams?"_

"… _Yeah actually…" he had the brains to admit. _

_That confession calmed me down _some_what, so I said. "Well, just so you know, I suffer from insomnia, so I took a walk too, only I actually saw someone…" I got angry again at this point, and my eyes narrowed, "but then the rest is a 'blur,' " I said the last part sarcastically._

_Marik looked at me with sad eyes, and I thought he was going to apologize, but then he smirked and said, "You probably got drunk or something 'Kura."_

'Kura…_ I thought, _I told him he could call me that last night… _He was being so unfair, remembering that night and yet not acknowledging it. Was it really that small of a deal that he could just… forget it like that? Was it only a big deal for me? A stepping stone to something more? I felt anger hit me again, so I said, "Well you must have been drunk last night too you purple fruitcake!"_

"_Not as drunk as you obviously, you look horrible, whereas I look fabulous."_

_I scoffed at him. "Only gay men say fabulous Marik."_

_He shrugged. "That would explain why you say it."_

"_I have never said that word in my life!"_

"_I beg to differ! I recall you saying that word _perfectly_."_

"_Well you're a complete idiot, so I'm not surprised that you remember something that never happened."_

"_At least I don't go back on my word," when I heard him say that, I thought Marik was going to blatantly talk about last night now instead of avoiding the subject, but then he said this, "you promised you'd help me steal some of Ryou's cookies from Melvin and you never did!"_

_I stared at him and then burst out laughing. "If you want some of Ryou's _five-star-restaurant_ cookies, why not just ask him yourself? He's be happy to make some for you."_

"_It's not about the cookies!" Marik explained, "I just want to steal something from my brother, and I thought since you hate him too that you'd help."_

"_Oh please, I can take anything from that psychopath anytime I want."_

_Marik smirked, "Yeah right, he terrifies you doesn't he?"_

"_No!" I lied, even though it was true. The guy said he dreamt of killing people and setting the world on fire! And he was _happy_ about it! Wouldn't that scare you?_

"_Yeah right! I see the way you act when he gets all insane. I'm used to it, childhood and all."_

"_And that's why you're messed up in the head."_

"_At least I don't have a twin-complex."_

_I feel my eye start to twitch. I have told him _more than once_ that I don't have a freaking complex! It is simple, plain, honest-to-goodness _brotherly love_. All right? "At least my brother didn't try to kill me more than once!" I yelled back at him._

"_Hey!" Marik yelled, now angry again, "He was just unstable okay? He's gotten much better!" I couldn't believe that Marik was actually _defending_ his psychotic brother… "And at least he _didn't!_" _

"_Whatever Purple Boy."_

"_Stop calling me that!"_

"_Why? It suits you, _Purple Boy!_" _

"_Just because I like to wear purple doesn't mean I'm a _purple boy!_ And it's totally a third-grade insult anyways!" _

"_It's better than stealing my brother's nick-name."_

_Marik ground his teeth together, "Fine! Then how about I call you Kitty instead? You know, 'cause you look so much like a damn cat it's scary!"_

_I blinked at him. Did he _seriously_ just call me 'Kitty?' Did he realize how… boyfriend-ish that sounded? No, he didn't, he was just being Marik… "If you call me Kitty I'll change Purple Boy to Purple Princess."_

_Marik paled, since I already called him Princess in public once (to which he immediately yelled at me for - "That can only be used during our arguments!" he said). I guess Purple Princess would be much worse. "All right, whatever, don't do that!"_

_I smirked, "Say the magic word!"_

_Marik's eye started twitching, "_Please_ don't call me Purple Princess," he said, the magic word laced with venom. _

"_Sure thing Purple Boy." _

_The fighting continued for a while, like it always does, but then we got over it and decided to go see a movie. _

"Besides," I told Ryou, getting out of my memories, "that happened over a year ago, he probably _did_ forget about it, you know how brain-dead he gets sometimes."

"I don't think anyone can forget something like that 'Kura," Ryou insisted, "who knows? Maybe he's thought long enough and he'll tell you that he -"

"LALALALALALALALA!" I drown him out while putting my fingers in his ears. I can tell where his sentence is going and I can _not_ let him finish it. He just rolls his eyes at my immaturity and continues driving.

Eventually, we get to Melvin's house and I stare at how small it is… It bordered on cozy for two people. I shuddered at the thought of Ryou living in there with… _him_. "Time to unload!" Ryou told me happily. I just rolled my eyes and got out of the car, but before I could actually step out, Ryou said, "Could you open the glove box for me 'Kura?"

I raise an eyebrow at him. "Can't you open it yourself?" I ask.

"_Pleeeeeeaaaaasssee?_" he begged, giving me his undeniably cute face. I think that's how he controls Melvin… so you can imagine how powerful it is. I roll my eyes, saying, "There better not be a freaking raccoon in there or something…" and open the bloody glove box.

What's inside is _much _worse than a raccoon or something.

Inside was my journal. My freaking journal. My freaking _purple_ journal. _My freaking purple journal!_ I glare at my brother who just smiled cheekily back at me. I look at the offending book again, still glaring. I can't believe he _stole_ the thing from me! And I can't believe that, out of all the odds, the journal I had bought had been purple even before I _met_ Purple Boy.

Stupid purple!

* * *

This story will probably be only 2-4 chapters long, depending on certain things… And I already have 5 pages on the next chapter (of course this chap was 15 pages long… XD over 8,000 words baby! DRAT! I SHOULD HAVE MADE IT OVER 9,000! Ah well…). I actually was planning on finishing this story and then posting it all together, but then I thought I'd post this and see if anyone likes it XD

For some reason I felt like torturing Bakura… XD 'Twas fun…

PS: For those of you reading my on-going multi-chapter fics, I will try to update those ASAP, but I got this new babysitting job so… I don't really have much time this summer ^^" Sorry!


	2. Nick Names and Fear

A/N: PURPLE PRINCESS RIKA-CHAN! You may now proceed with the chapter =)

* * *

"_Every time I remember a nick-name… every single time… my heart beats just a little bit faster…"_

* * *

I groan as I see that diamond add again on a billboard: "Diamonds so great, princesses wear them!" with a picture of a blonde, curly-haired princess in a light-blue, princess-y dress sporting a _huge_ diamond ring. Of course, I was groaning because of the word 'princess,' which reminded me of a certain someone who _actually called me that_ (talk about ridiculous right? How immature do you have to be to call someone princess! Especially a _boy!_). I groan as my heart speeds up, why did it have to be a princess? _Why?_ Why couldn't it be an ogre, or a queen, or a _wife_, or _any _person other than a princess!

I turn away from the billboard, wishing that it would get hit by a plane and smash into a million, tiny pieces, but of course that's not going to happen anytime soon. I walk through the town on my way to my brother's house, he wanted me to help him move his boyfriend's stuff in today, and even though I _tried_ to get out of it he was just so adamant! So eventually I just gave in, not that I'm complaining now because I have absolutely no plans today. I was actually starting to get bored until right now. I _would_ call up my best friend to hang out, but I don't really want to see him today… I can't handle any more nick-names - I need a break from the blushing and my heart-rate increasing. Besides, I was helping my brother, Melvin, today anyways, so unless I wanted my friend to help, I shouldn't call him up. Plus… I almost feel as if he's avoiding me… I called him up a few days ago to hang out and he seemed ruder than usual and made up a lot of excuses not to go. And then, when I saw him walking around, he glared at me and turned in the other direction… So if that's not avoiding I don't know what is.

Stupid nick-names!

I glare at a store display-window. It was a fashion store, with those manikins wearing their best clothes, and one of them was a boy wearing a horizontally-striped purple and navy-blue shirt, instantly reminding me of yet another nick-name _he_ calls me - Purple Boy, which made my stupid heart speed back up again. That's actually the latest nick-name (for a freaking _year_), and I have _no idea_ how he came up with it. I mean, just because I like wearing my purple, sleeveless hoodie every day doesn't mean I'm a _Purple Boy!_ Ugh… That nick-name's worse than the other ones too, because the word 'princess' I rarely see, but I see purple _everywhere_. Purple cars, purple furniture, purple _buildings_, purple everywhere! Though luckily I don't _usually_ think of Purple Boy, only sometimes, but this time was horrible because it actually was a _boy_ wearing _purple_.

I continue to glare at the store window wanting more than anything to just break in and rip off that manikin's head and then tear the shirt apart along with all the other purple shirts in the store, but I know that I'll get arrested for that, so I can't.

I sigh as I walk away from the fashion store. What I _should_ be doing is coming up with more designs for my _own_ fashion agency, I haven't really been focused on it lately… What with me wondering why my best friend was avoiding me (I didn't even do anything!) and all the stupid nick-names, I can't even look at _fruit_ anymore without my heart starting because he calls me 'fruitcake.' Which… when I think about it, isn't really so much a 'nick-name' as it is an 'insult,' but the way he says it is more… well, _affectionate_, I guess, than if someone else said it. I mean, it's not like he called me _fag_ or anything, not that he hasn't gotten close but… Still, he hasn't. I start to zone out as I think of him… his fluffy, white hair, his seductive eyes, his sexy smile, his soft lips…

GAH! Stop thinking!

I walk faster as my face heats up. I should get to my bro's before I think of anything else that makes me blush… Think of something else… _Anything_ else…!

You know what I can't believe? The fact that my brother bought a house before me. I'm still living in an apartment (but by myself, a roommate would annoy me _waaay_ too much). And my job pays more than some _demolition company_. Of course he _is_ very good at poker, I swear it's like he can read your mind or something… I've never beaten him. Of course I don't mind as much anymore because now I can hold his gambling against him. His boyfriend, Ryou, doesn't like it when he gambles, but he does it anyway for the money and he made me 'promise' not to tell. So now I have blackmail. Take that Melvin!

Eventually, I get to my bro's house. It's not that big, a two-story really built for only one person, but two _could_ live there, not that two _should_. I'm surprised someone as docile as Ryou actually agreed to move in with my brother, I hope he knows that's the biggest mistake he'll ever make in his life.

I walk right in since I know for a fact he keeps his door unlocked ("Who would possibly be insane enough to steal from me?" he says), and I call his name, waiting for a response. "Melvin! I'm here!" Of course he doesn't answer me. I sigh, he was going to jump out and surprise me again, for some reason he just _loves_ doing that. I walk in the living room and sit on his small couch, turning on the TV as I do so. As soon as the TV starts making sound, however, I hear a familiar, low, British voice say, "Wanna make out?" I turn towards the sound (behind me), my face red, and see that it's just my _immature_ brother doing his impression of my best friend again. He's smirking mischievously, and he wiggles his eyebrows to which I push him away. "No," I say forcefully.

"If I was the _real_ Bakura you wouldn't say that~!" he taunted.

"Yes I would!"

"Oh really?" he says, smirking, "This book I found begs to differ," he says as he takes an object from under the couch cushion and holds up a purple, hardcover book. My eyes go wide at the sight and my face pales slightly. "I-is that…?"

"Yup!" he said happily.

"Where did you even _get_ that…?"

"I broke into your apartment and found it under your pillow!"

I stare at him, and after letting out a scream of anger I stand up and start chasing him up the stairs, hearing his maniacal laughter cascade down. "GIVE THAT BACK MELVIN!" I yelled at my _completely idiotic brother_ as we run around in the upstairs for a little bit, "I can't believe you stole that from me! Is _nothing_ sacred anymore?-!"

"Marik, a _diary_ is never sacred!" he mocks me as he rounds about and runs down the stairs and over the couch.

"It's not a diary!" I scream at him as I jump over the couch and chase him into the kitchen, where he slides under the kitchen table (somehow avoiding the chair legs) and keeps running. I jump on top of the thing and run across it for about one step before continuing to chase him for my purple _journal_. Not diary, _journal_, got it? "It's a _journal!_" I scream at him just as he locks himself in the bathroom, I caught a glimpse of his stupid, laughing-at-my-annoyance face right before though, so now I was even more pissed off. I stop at the door and pound on it, "Open this door right now you psychotic maniac!"

" 'Dear' _diary_," Melvin starts to read, even though I _wrote_ journal, " 'Turns out, Ryou has a twin brother named Bakura, and he is… well…"

I feel my face start to heat up as I remember that entry. "If you read any more of that I'll -!"

" 'For lack of a better word,' " my stupid brother continued, "_smoking hot!_"

"I did not write that!" I yell at him, my face a tomato and the strength of my punches increasing, "I said 'attractive!' 'ATTRACTIVE!' "

"But you said, "For lack of a better word," and the words you were looking for were _smoking hot!_" Melvin taunted from the safety of the bathroom.

My eye started to twitch. "GET OUT OF THE FREAKING BATHROOM YOU COWARD!"

"Where was I?" Melvin asked jokingly, completely shrugging off him being called a coward, "Oh yeah! _Smoking hot!_" I yell in frustration at him, "I can't believe that anyone who looks so cute and loveable can have a twin that looks so… so…' "

"FINISH THAT SENTENCE AND DIE!" I yell at him.

" 'So… _sexy!_' " Melvin finishes loudly. I groan, and the worse part is that I actually _did_ write that, but that was only because I thought no one would see it but me! " 'His personality could use some work though,' " Melvin continued reading _my private journal_, " 'He's the most arrogant person I've ever met, he's sarcastic, he's _way_ too cocky, and he constantly cracks jokes and insults _all the time_. But that's just part of his _charm_,' " Melvin pronounced 'charm' just to annoy me more than he was already, and it worked. I was glaring at the door as if I expected it to turn to ash so I could strangle my brother. " 'He reminds me of myself actually, and I can already tell that he'd make a good friend for me. Though probably not for anyone else.' "Friend?" Melvin mocked me, "More like _boy_friend! Or _husband!_"

"WE'RE NOT EVEN GOING OUT!" I yelled at him, clawing at the door.

"Really? You don't count all those times you went to the movies or restaurants _dates?_ That's, like, the definition of a date little brother!"

My face enflamed. Okay, so maybe that idea crossed my mind once or twice, but it wasn't a date! We don't see them that way! "We were just bored!" I explained, "It's not a _date_, it's an aversion of boredom! It's just something to do!"

"Keep telling yourself that _princess_," I can imagine him smirking through the door, "Oh wait, only _'Kura_ can call you that right? Oh wait, he calls you _Purple Boy_ nowadays right?"

"SHUT UP!" I yell at him, my face turning so red I think it turned purple from the use of the 'Kura nick-names.

Melvin let out a psychotic laugh to which I glared even more fiercely at him through the door for. "Still," he said, "this entry proves that you like him~!"

"It does not!" I yell, "That entry is old! It was when I knew nothing about him! Before I knew how annoying and insulting he could _really_ be! I swear he sold his soul to the devil to think of such comebacks so quickly…"

"Whatever! On to the next entry…" the jerk sang happily. "This time it's closer to today's date, 'Dear Journal,' " he read, actually saying _journal_ this time, " 'Bakura commented how I wear my signature purple hoodie all the time, and when I told him that it was because I _like_ it, he said it made me look like a prostitute! Can you believe that?' To be completely honest," Melvin cut in, "it _is_ awfully skimpy…"

"It is not!" I defended my favorite shirt. I'd defend that thing to the _death!_

" 'And _then_ he said it made me look gay! Or at least like a transvestite! Needless to say, it was one of those fights where we resorted to physical violence - he can insult my brother (I'll actually join in),' hurtful by the way," Melvin commented, " 'he can insult my hair, or my kohl, or anything else he can think of, but mock the hood and it gets _personal_. Though, there was _one_ thing that kept bothering me… He kept looking at my chest with a… um… _interested_ look in his eye, and I can't help but admit that I… enjoy that look… a lot -' "

"That entry's not any closer to today!" I yell at him, "That's closer to the other one!"

Melvin laughed. "Sorry! I just love this one!"

I pale when he says that. "D-did you read all of it before now?-!" I ask, my voice filled with mass hysteria.

"Yup!" he admits happily, "I swear, this thing is romance-drama _gold!_" My face turns almost as white as 'Kura's and I'm shocked into silence. He… read the whole thing… that is _so_ not good! " 'It's weird, even though we fight a lot it's also really fun when we do so,' " the recitation continued, " 'though sometimes we get a little _too_ angry and violent... It's still fun. There's nothing I'd rather be doing than fighting and insulting the albino.' "

"That's still true," I admit, "fighting him is just so much fun. Why are you torturing me anyway?" I ask him, I would _really_ like to hear his answer!

"Oh, no reason in particular," he says, "more or less because you're my brother and I love torturing you! Just like Bakura I guess, though I bet you wish he tortured you in a different way~!"

"THAT IS SO DISGUSTING MELVIN!" I yell at him, though my face still goes bright red.

He gives another insane laugh and then reads from _my journal_ again, " 'I think Bakura must _love_ seeing me blush, because he never misses an opportunity to see my red face. He always says I'm "cute" whenever he sees a good chance, and sometimes he brings his face _one freaking inch_ away from mine. It's so annoying! Though I also can't help but feel like leaning in about an inch whenever he does that…"

"Stopitstopitstopitstopit STOP IT!" I yell at my immature, irresponsible brother while my face goes deep red. Why the hell did I write that?-! I should have known my brother would've found it one day! "You're just saying all of the embarrassing parts! What about all the other parts? Like this one: 'Dear Journal, today I found out that Bakura loves meat. I mean, I already knew that he ate meat, but it's like he's _infatuated_ with the stuff or something! We were getting food from a restaurant and he ordered the steak, saying and I quote, "Have as much blood in the thing as you possibly can without it being hazardous to my health." That's so gross! I still don't understand how one can eat meat, much less with _blood _in it, even if it is watered down a bit. And when he _got_ the stake, he shoved it down like he was a starving wolf or something, I would have never thought he ate like that! Considering how skinny he is. Though I must admit…' " I stop talking as I remember how that sentence ended. Damn it! I forgot about that part…

Evidently, Melvin found the entry I had been reciting (I know there was no way he could have memorized it) because he started where I left off, " 'Though I must admit that skinny is a _really_ good look on him.' Face it Marik! You're head over heels in _L-O-V-E!_"

"No I am not!" I yell at him, "Come on! _Both_ of those Brits are skinny! You should know about how skinny Ryou is especially…" I comment sarcastically.

"Damn right! Not only is he skinny, he's silky too…" Melvin proclaimed proudly. I roll my eyes - I know they haven't gotten anywhere _near_ that point, Ryou wouldn't let them.

"Liar! I know you and Ryou haven't gotten there yet."

"How would _you_ know that? Spying on us to get tips for your _boyfriend?_" Melvin says tauntingly.

My face enflamed. "Of course not! Who in their right mind would spy on _you_ for tips on _anything?_ And he's _not_ my boyfriend!"

"Yet!"

"MELVIN!"

"Just get out of denial already Rika-chan!" I grind my teeth. "Rika-chan" is the nick-name my brother came up with after meeting a girl named Arica. He realized that the name was similar to mine, only without an "M" and an added "A." Then he came up with "Marika," and then he came up with "Rika-chan" after watching some anime on youtube or something. Luckily, Bakura hasn't caught wind of _that_ nick-name yet… I mean, Princess is bad enough, and Purple Boy is even _worse_, but if he started calling me Rika-chan I think I'd die from blushing so much. I can't help but feel that all these names he calls me are… well, pet names. That's pretty much what they are, aren't they? Same with 'Kura… And Kitty, though I don't really call him that or else he'll call me Purple Princess, which would be _so much worse_ than Purple Boy _or_ Princess.

"I'm not in denial!" I yell at him.

"Da-Nile's not just a river in Egypt brother!" my brother said, using that horrible pun that I hear _everywhere_.

"I know that! We're _from_ Egypt you idiot!"

He chuckled. "Oh! Here's my _favorite_ entry," he says. I search through my memories trying to think of which one would be his favorite. " 'Dear Journal, I found it very difficult to fall asleep last night (what with all the thoughts that have been running through my head lately), so I decided to take a walk to tire myself out. Oddly enough, I ran into Bakura on my walk." _Oh no_," I think, positive a blood vessel in my face broke and my heart speeding up like a race-horse's. This is worse than if 'Kura called me Purple Princess Rika-chan…! My eyes haze over as that night comes back to me:

* * *

_I sigh as I walk around town, my head just wouldn't shut up… and it was all mindless drabble too, and all centering around the same thing, and all making me blush and annoyed. What were the thoughts? They were all about my brother's boyfriend's twin, Bakura. How he seemed to look at me longer than usual lately, and how he seemed to touch me more than usual, and how his sarcastic smirk seems… much more distracting nowadays… I mean, it still _looks_ the same (it's kind of hard to change something natural), but it's, more or less, the way _I_ think of his smirk now… and lately all I've been seeing is this pair of… um… lips… _

_I blush red as a picture of me and Bakura kissing enters my mind. I shake my head to get rid of it, and I stare ahead at the sky, blurry-eyed. I get lost in thought as a scene flashes in my head…_

"Find yourself a wife!"_ my dad always yelled at me, _"I want a grandson!"

_I close my eyes as I think, _But what if I don't want a _wife_? _But my thoughts are immediately answered with a picture of my dad's face contorted in anger and a belt in hand…_

_I sigh. The truth was, I _knew_ I was gay, I can't recall ever liking a woman before in my life, but I just… I can't… My dad would… kill me if he knew he wouldn't get a grandson… I sigh again, these types of thoughts have been haunting me for a while… Usually going in a circle like this: _

_I like 'Kura - but my dad would kill me for not getting him a child - but I haven't met any girl I like that way… - I definitely like 'Kura that way (even if I deny it most of the time) - but my dad would kill me for not bearing him a son - but I don't like women! - I like 'Kura! - but my dad… and the circle goes on and on and on… _

_I know what you're thinking, "Wouldn't Melvin be in the same position as me?" Well, the thing is that he doesn't care about our dad at all, and if I didn't know better I'd say he _chose_ to be gay just to defy the bastard. He _had_ told us both that we had to get married, but Melvin was always against him, and then when he told our dad (in his mid teens at this time) that he likes boys and not girls, he kicked him out (not without a violent fight from Melvin) and relied even more heavily on me. _That_ was when he threatened to kill me if I didn't get a wife, and that threat still hangs with me through young adult-hood! It goes to show how things that happened to you when you were a child affect you when you're an adult… _

_In a way, Melvin's the lucky one in this aspect, although both my oldest brother (he's adopted so my dad doesn't really care if he has a son or not - he wants a 'blood grandchild' from the oldest son) and my sister say that he was abused the most and that's why he's so messed up. They think dad took most of his anger out on him because of his naturally rebellious personality… But he _is_ lucky because he can marry anyone he wants without fear of being killed. And I _know_ my dad would do it - the murderous look in his eye… Not unlike Melvin's…_

"_Hey Marik!" I hear Bakura's voice call, startling me out of my thoughts with a jolt. I turn towards him, straighten myself out quickly, and smile as I realize he'll probably ask me what's wrong if I show that anything's wrong. "Hey 'Kura," I say, "what's -"_

_He interrupts me with, "WHAT did you just call me…?" His voice sounded super dangerous and super scary. I was shocked by the pure amount of anger in his words, what was wrong with 'Kura? Ryou calls him that all the time. _

"_Um…" I start, "I called you 'Kura… Why?"_

"_Only Ryou can call me that!" he practically screams at me._

_I scrunch up my eyebrows in confusion. "Why?" I ask, curious as to why I couldn't call him that. _

"_Because I grew up with him and _he's_ the one who thought of it. Come up with your own bloody nick-name!"_

_I look at him wondering, "Seriously?" as I smirk. "But 'Kura just sounds _soooo_ cute~!" I smile as I see a light blush come across his face. Ha! Payback for all the times you complimented me and I blushed! _

"_Just don't call me that okay?"_

_I roll my eyes at his insistence. What's the big deal? "What the heck can I call you then?" I ask, "Bakura's getting too long to say - I like two-syllable names." That was true, everyone in my family has no more than two syllables in their name. Melvin, Rishid (my adoptive oldest brother I mentioned before), mom, dad, the only person who doesn't is my sister Ishizu, but we usually call her Isis, so even _she_ has only two syllables. _

_Bakura shrugged at me. "I don't know. Come up with something, you're always saying how you're 'so smart,' even though everyone knows you're _not_," he taunts me. I can tell he just want to start an argument with me, and I'm all too happy to comply. It might help me take my mind off of the… latest developments. I glare at him, concealing the fact that I'm enjoying this. "Well at least I don't look like a freaking albino."_

_He chuckles. "I'll take looking like an albino over looking like a gay boy any day fruitcake," he retorts back._

_My fists clench at my side and I start gnashing my teeth. Now I'm not enjoying this anymore, now I'm _seething_ mad! He knows I'm sensitive about my attire! "For the last freaking time," I yell at him, "_I do not look gay!_"_

"_But you _are_ gay…?" he asks me. _

_My eyes widen slightly and I hesitate with my mouth slightly open. _Yes I am_, I immediately think, but I can't be… I need to have a child… _

But _why_ should I listen to my dad?_ I ask myself._ _He was a horrible father! He had been ever since mom died… He was usually drunk, and he resorted to violence most times… so why should I care about what he wants from me?_

_I resist the urge to cringe as a picture of a glass beer bottle flying towards me enters my head. It was the fear factor. The cold-hearted grip of fear, making me think of what he'd do if I didn't provide him with the grandson he so desperately wants… The thought of pain and misery and the fact that it would be by my father's hands… My own father, who I'm supposed to look up to and admire, ha! Don't make me laugh… But just the thought of telling my dad that I don't want to get married (at least to a woman) made my blood run cold, and made me automatically cringe, even if it's on the inside. _

_But the fear-factor still doesn't change the fact that I _am_ gay, that I'm not attracted to women…_

_I close my mouth and scrunch up my eyebrows, stuffing my hands in my pockets and avoiding his gaze as I do so. What should I tell him? Should I say no, and that I'm still just looking for a girl…? But, I'm _not_ looking. Frankly, I don't care! Why should I have to lie just to please my father? With this thought, I decide to say, "Yeah…" _

_He stares at me, probably hearing all the hesitation that was in voice. "What about you?" I ask, still avoiding his gaze, "What's your preference?" He at least owes me the knowledge if I have a chance or not… Especially since I just told him something I'd been holding back for… _ever_!_

_Out of the corner of my eye I can see him blink at me, I guess he's thinking it over as well. "Bi I guess," he says after a few moments. _

_I look up at him and raise an eyebrow, "You guess?" I ask._

"_Never really thought about it."_

"_But, surely you just _know_…?" I ask, my face going red. This is awkward… shouldn't he know who he's attracted to or not? I mean, I know who _I'm_ attracted to… The same kind of people my brother's attracted to… My face brightens as an ironic thought enters my head. "It's funny don't you think?" I ask._

_I can tell he has absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, and I'm proven right when he says, "What?"_

"_That two sets of brothers are…" I pause here, thinking about my dad again, "… gay. It's kind of funny." And it was! If only I could be as open about it as Melvin… but then dad would surely find out…_

_Bakura cracks a smile. "That is pretty funny…" he admits, "What do you think the homophobes would think of the situation?"_

_I laugh - just like Bakura to get me out of any funk I'm in. "I have no idea… they'd probably just yell at us or something and tell us to be 'normal.' "_

"_There's no such thing as 'normal,' " Bakura comments, "that's just a hoax to make slightly weirder people feel special and to make others fit in."_

_I laugh at him again. "You've thought that out haven't you?"_

"_Maybe," he says like it's a secret. You don't _know_ what secrets are… _

_I shrug that last thought off and laugh, staring at the stars. I think about when I was a child, and how hard it had been to make friends with anyone, considering my home life wasn't that good. I didn't feel like I related to anyone… I still feel like that today actually. "You know," I say, "I usually have a hard time making friends…" he raises an eyebrow at me, obviously wondering why I'm telling him this. I turn to look at him with a happy yet slightly… well, I'll admit _flirty_ look on my face, "People usually think I'm too annoying or arrogant… or sarcastic, but you don't seem to mind," I smirk again, thinking of a perfect insult, "Probably since you're worse than me in all three categories."_

_He smiles at me and bows graciously, "I thank you for the compliment dear sir, say anymore and I may faint." _

_I laugh at his silly antics. I love this guy!… Um, you know… in the way that I love pizza and stuff… "That wasn't a compliment and you know it," I tell him._

"_So I can't take it as one?" he asks._

"_No."_

"_I beg to differ! I can take anything the way I want it to."_

_I open my mouth to retort, when all of a sudden that picture of me and him kissing enters my mind again. I stop short and my face erupts in flames, so I turn away from him. _How would he take _that_…?_ I think,_ Would he just… not care…? Or…

"_What's wrong?" Bakura asks me, trying to hide his curiosity but failing._

"_N-nothing," I stammered. If I told him what I'd been thinking he'd probably laugh at me and walk away… but he said he takes things the way he wants them to…? "I was just thinking…" I continue, "you _only_ take things the way you want…?"_

_He scrunches up his eyebrows in confusion, probably having no idea where I'm going with this. "Um…" he hesitates, heh, you probably should, "yes, why?"_

"_I was just thinking," I turn to look at him, and I smile on the inside because it looks like he's fighting a blush himself. "How would you take it if I…"_

"_If you _what?_" he asks me impatiently. _

_I fight the urge not to laugh at how impatient he is, but that becomes easier as I say, "If I… kissed you."_

_I can see my question caught him off guard, and through the dark I could faintly see red creeping up his neck. "Well…" he says, getting rid of the awkward silence. He rubs the back of his neck, maybe trying to get rid of the red there. "It uh… depends…"_

"_On what?" I ask just a little too quickly, I hope I don't sound too… desperate or something, but the more I thought about it the more I _wanted_ it. I wanted to see if his lips were soft and warm, like I've alwa - I mean _recently_ thought they were, to see how he responds to these feelings, to see if he likes me the same… you can tell all that from a kiss… can't you? Who cares if it's a boy? Who cares about my _dad?_ He didn't give a damn about me anyway. I could probably pay someone to kill him off… Hell, _Melvin _will probably do it! He hates that bastard more than I do! _

"_On um…" 'Kura finally answers me as his face goes entirely red and he looks down to avoid my gaze. Is that a good sign or not? Embarrassment? I hope it's good… "On… well, how _long_ it is firstly, and… uh… how… _deep_ it is, so to speak…"_

"_Well…" I say, rubbing the back of my neck. I'm glad he's looking down so that he doesn't see the blush on _my_ face, which increased every second along with my longing, and my neglect for my father. "I kind of consider you my best friend 'Kura… Er, I mean _Ba_kura."_

"_You know what?" he says suddenly, "You can call me "Kura. It sounds so natural when you say it." _

_I smiled at him, my face toning down slightly, but his was still in flames. " 'Best Friend 'Kura.' It has a nice ring, don't you think?" _Although 'Boyfriend 'Kura' would sound _so_ much better,_ my mind immediately says to me, making my face flush. We turn and stare at nothing really, when my longing decides to go up again and I'm standing there with my heart probably going a million miles an hour. He considers me his best friend too… for some reason, just that thought alone made the world ten times brighter. I've never had a best friend before… Do I really want to mess that up with a kiss…? Most likely caused by stupid hormones? Even if I'm not a teenager anymore… Besides, a lot of people say that once you're in the friend zone, there's no going out, so is it already too late…? _

_I tell myself to shut up about all these negatives and to just enjoy the moment for once, why is that so hard for me? Why must I always think of the future? Why must I think of the negatives? Of my father? Of pain? Of sorrow? Of… unrequited love…? Why must I think of these things?_

_I stop thinking about _anything_ as the notion comes into my head that now would be the perfect time to grab 'Kura's hand… _

_So I do, but slowly, I don't want him to run away screaming or something… That would do _wonders_ for my self-esteem, don't you think? But you wanna know something? I loved it. As soon as our hands made contact a spark of electricity shot through from my hand, to my arm, and traveled to my heart - I'm not even joking, that's _way_ too corny of an occurrence for me to joke about. _

_His hand was a little cold and hard, though I'm not surprised with how pale he is and how he refuses to wear a jacket even when it's snowing out. I mean, I may wear a… 'less-than-adequate' hoodie all the time, but at least _I_ know when to dress warm. But even with that, his hand still felt nice, and I felt my happiness grow as I realized that he _wasn't pulling his hand away_. That was definitely good, right? I found it hard to think of my dad as 'Kura was much more distracting right now, why didn't he say anything though…? I cock my head to the side and start to ask him a question, but I second-guess myself as I see that he's not even looking at me and his face is as red as a tomato. Was that good…? I face forward again. If he didn't like it, he would pull away right? So then why won't he look at me? As seconds turn to minutes and he _still_ hasn't looked at me, or said something, or _responded_, I start to worry. Maybe he _doesn't_ like me, maybe he's not responding because he doesn't want to admit that he'll never feel that way…? Maybe -_

_I stop thinking as I see his head turn slightly towards me out of the corner of my eye. _

_I turn towards him, but he still hesitates. Why won't you say anything 'Kura…?_

_And as he _still_ doesn't say anything, all of the negatives start to come back to me. The thought of what my dad would do if he saw us right now… the thought of all the yelling, all the pain, all the fear… but my dad was only a small concern compared to this next one: The thought that 'Kura doesn't like me, and he's just debating how to break it to me… The thought that he's just leading me on and then he'll laugh in my face and torture me about this for ages to come. The thought that… that… he _never_ felt that way, and that he'll _never_ feel that way… ever…_

_I think that thought was the one that broke my heart. _

_But even through all those negatives, I find his face to be so distracting and take my mind off of them… or more precisely, the slightly parted, slightly chapped, pink lips _on_ his face. What would he do if I _did_ just kiss him right now… he never did answer me. Is he thinking about it too? Would he even like it? What if he _did _like it…? What if he wants to kiss me too…? I need to find out what he's thinking…! "So…" I finally say, "what're you thinking about…?"_

_He looks down. "Well… Like you said before… I consider you my best friend too…"_

"… _Oh…" I say, releasing his hand almost as soon as the word comes out of my mouth. So that's it… that's where we stand… best friends, and nothing more. _

_Why didn't he tell me that earlier? Then I could have saved myself all this hype, all this emotion, all this… this… _worry!

_Now what the hell am I supposed to do? It's dang obvious that I like him now, and it's dang obvious that he doesn't feel the same way, so… _

_I decide that the best thing to do would probably be to just run away and avoid him for a while. "Well um…" I say, getting ready to run in any direction as long as it's away from my best friend. I start walking away, building up to run, but then he grabs my arm and says, "Hey… best friends kiss… right…?" …_

_That single sentence confused the hell out of me. _

_Why would he say that unless he… unless he _wants_ to kiss me…? Is he just humoring me? Is he testing to see if I was serious or not? Because if that's the case, I'll show him that I was dead serious. But… he said he considers me his 'best friend,' doesn't that mean that he _doesn't_ like me that way…?_

_Of course, I consider him my best friend and I think of him… that way… _

_But still… best friends don't kiss, not unless they want to become something more… "I'm not so sure about that one 'Kura…" I finally answer with my back still turned. _

"_Well…" he says, stalling me from leaving, "why not?"_

_I turn to look at him. "Wouldn't it just make things awkward?" I mean, we see each other _every day_, and now we said we're best friends, so… _

"_No," he answers quickly, "it doesn't have to mean anything…" _What do you mean 'it doesn't have to mean anything'?_ I think doubtfully, _If you kiss, that automatically makes it mean something! _"If it helps," he continues, "we could just… do it and then pretend it never happened."_

… _Pretend it never happened…? But… I don't think I _want_ to…! _

_But… if we _did_ hook up… what would my dad do…? I know he would hurt (and kill) me for sure, but what about 'Kura…? Would he do anything to him? I almost go pale at the thought of my dad doing _anything_ harmful to Bakura… I don't care what he does to me (okay, I care a little bit), but if he does anything to 'Kura… That can _not_ happen, we _can't_ kiss, my dad will…_

Screw my dad! I want to kiss 'Kura…!_ I think as desire gives in and I move towards him, wrap my arms around his neck, and kiss him. _

_After a few seconds, he kissed me back, which surprised me more than my sudden surge of emotion. Doesn't that mean that… he likes me too…? Or is he just tired…? _Shut up!_ I yell at myself,_ For once in your life can you just _shut up_ and enjoy the moment?-! _So for once, I listened to myself and think about the kiss… about how he wrapped his arms around my waist to bring us closer… I want this, I want this so much, and I want _him_, screw my dad, screw any girl, screw anyone else, 'Kura's all I need… _

_Before, I had only (day)dreamed about kissing 'Kura… but the real thing was a bazillion times better… no, more than that, what's more than a bazillion? _Infinitely_ better… His lips were a little chapped, and the dryness sort of tingled against my own, sending pleasurable shivers from my mouth, through my throat, and down to my stomach, as if feeding the million butterflies that had nested there. As soon as out lips had touched (even if he hadn't responded right away), another shock of electricity shook through me, this time emanating through my entire body and only centering in my heart, and I felt… happy, complete, brave, like I was among the bright, shining stars, or in a dream. It was a deep kiss, even if it wasn't actually… you know, _deep_ in the other sense, and I felt more happy than I had ever felt in the longest time, could I stay like this forever? Please tell me yes…_

_Evidently, the answer was no._

_Flashes of pain came to me, all centering in my back where my dad had scarred me for life with a hot knife… And that had been when _Melvin_ was kicked out, imagine if I told him about… _

_I pulled back, looking him right in the eyes which had opened as soon as we stopped kissing. My face lit up like a firework and I stepped out of our embrace, immediately wanting to go back into it. Instead, I just coughed nervously and said, "Sorry… I just… um…" He silenced my babbling by stepping forward and putting his finger to my mouth. It was such a gentle touch… but not as gentle as his lips which he pressed to mine again. I immediately want to press back into him, to go back to before I thought of depressing things, to go back to feeding the butterflies still in my stomach… _

_But I can't… now my back was starting to ache, the scars there were tingling in pain, and it wasn't the good tingle that came from kissing, it was the painful tingle that came from pain, and fear._

_And my dad._

_My dad caused those scars, and he wouldn't hesitate to make more, and not necessarily _only_ on me this time…! I need to go, I need to leave and never think about this again… I need…_

_But I don't _want_ to go…! _

_I want to stay here and kiss 'Kura till the sun rises, I want to kiss him back with everything I have, I want… I want…_

_I want 'Kura!_

_But I _need_ to have a child… But couldn't I still have one if he and I were together…? We could adopt, or hire someone to have the baby…_

_But would Bakura even want one? Hell, do _I_ even want one? _

_As I start to think about that, Bakura kisses me harder, probably trying to get me to kiss him back… but I need to think…! But what's there to think about? The truth is, _I_ don't want a baby! I'd be a horrible father! I just know it! And as those thoughts enter my head, I feel my dissolve weakening, and my desire to kiss Bakura back grows… And these feelings only increase more as he reaches his hands up and holds my face gently…_

_My dissolve collapses completely as he runs his hand through my hair sensually, making me shiver and making me want more… I wrap my arms around his neck again, pressing us closer, deepening the kiss… He gently glides his tongue across my bottom lip, making me shiver again. I open my mouth, barely registering when I did so, and after a brief battle I give in and let 'Kura explore me, enjoying his touch, loving how… intimate this was… _

_But then, I realized that this had gone much deeper than a simple, "I _think_ I like you" experiment. Much deeper than a, "We can just forget about it" occurrence. It was _much_ deeper than that, so what does that mean…? _

That means that he likes you,_ my mind told me, _that means that he wanted to kiss you too. That means…

_That means that my dad will kill us both._

_I knew it without a doubt. He would kill us. It was obvious that I would never bare him a son anyway, so what would he have to lose by killing me? Nothing. He would have _less_ than nothing to lose by killing Bakura… _

_These thoughts were only strengthened as my scars prickled and burned again. My father had done that. He said it had been easy, like cutting butter… It would probably be easier to skin as smooth as Bakura's…_

_With that thought I tear away and back up a couple steps. And even though I had just been thinking painful thoughts, that didn't change the fact that I _had_ enjoyed the kiss… er, kiss_es_. That didn't change the fact that my face was redder than it had ever been before, especially when I thought (briefly) of how deep we had gone… "I-I'm sorry…" I stammered. Why do I keep apologizing? I'm not sorry we kissed, I'm sorry if he's been caused pain (especially if my dad is the cause…), but certainly not because we kissed. But maybe _he's_ sorry…? _

_It didn't _seem_ like he was sorry. _

_But I can't, I just… can't, not just because of my dad, but because of so many other things too. 'Kura's my best friend, we just decided that today! I've never had a best friend before, I don't want to mess that up… I don't want things to be awkward between us… I want us to argue, and to fight, and to laugh, and to talk like normal… but I also _do_ want to kiss him… but I just can't…! I'm not ready for something like this… I'm not ready for a relationship, especially if it's going to be as intimate as those kisses! Every day I'll be consumed by guilt and fear, every day I'll be questioning if I'm making the right choices._

_Every day I'll be worried that my dad will come and hurt 'Kura._

_Hell, I'm _already_ worried about that._

"_I should…" I started, getting ready to just leave, pretend this never happened, just like he said we could…_

"_Coward!" he yells at me._

_I stop and look at him, confused. "What?"_

"_You heard me!" he's not yelling anymore, but he's still furious, "I know you enjoyed that… so don't be a _coward_ and pretend you didn't feel anything!"_

_I blink at him. _

Coward.

_That was what my dad called me when he held the knife to my back. I blinked again._

Coward.

_That was what my dad called me when I told him I wasn't dating any girl in high school._

Coward.

_That was what my brother called me when I wasn't dating _anyone_ in high school, when I told him I was afraid of dad…_

Coward.

_That was one nick-name that Bakura could_ not_ call me…! _

_I blinked at him a few more times before my face contorted with anger. "You said that 'best friends kiss,' " I said, finding it difficult not to reach out and hit him right now, "_you_ said that it doesn't have to mean anything, and _**you said**_ that we could just do it and pretend it never happened! So don't go calling me a coward when you provided a way out for yourself too!"_

"_Yeah, but I didn't plan on taking it."_

"_What is that supposed to mean?"_

"_What do you _think_ it means?" _

_I look at him, my mouth slightly open as if I was going to say something. Doesn't that mean… that he likes me…? That he wanted to kiss me? But… I can't… I can't…! "I just…" I said, frustrated with all my conflicting emotions, "I can't deal with all of this right now! It's too much!"_

"_So you admit you felt something!" Bakura accused._

"_What?" I asked, my face going red again, "I-I never said that!"_

"_But you implied it! _

"_Well…" I said, trying to figure out what to say. I almost felt like telling him about _why_ I can't do this, _why_ I can't kiss him without feeling guilty, _why_ I'm being so bipolar right now… but then I just get so _angry_. He had said we could pretend this never happened, and now he's mocking me for doing that very thing! Doesn't he understand that I can't? Doesn't he understand that he could get hurt, possibly _die_, if he was with me? Or I with him? I'm doing what's best for you! You idiot! "Why does it matter to you?" I spit at him, every bitter emotion I've ever felt bubbling up inside me and spilling out, "Don't you always say how annoying I am all the time? Don't you always say how a 'princess' like me only _wishes_ he could be with someone like you?-? Don't you always say how if you had to spend more than a day with me then you'd go insane and kill yourself?-!"_

"_I didn't mean any of those things and you know it!"_

"_I can take it any way I want!" I screamed, throwing his own words back at him. His eyes widen out of shock, probably amazed that I had thought he was serious about any of that stuff. The truth was, I knew that was only said to rile me up, I knew it wasn't serious, but I was just so mad that I yelled the first thing that came to mind… This might be better that way, he'll think that I don't think he likes me (and I'm pretty sure that he does) and then we'll forget this day ever happened. No one ever gets hurt… at least not physically. _

But no one's specifically happy either…

"_I'm gonna go…" I said at last, walking away. _

"_Wait Marik," Bakura calls, making me stop to listen. "… I guess, if you _really_ want to… We can just… forget this ever happened."_

_I pause. That's… probably the best thing… right? Even if it's not what I want… Even if I want to be with Bakura, even if I want to kiss him every day… What I want more than anything is for him to not be hurt, and if this is the only way to do it… "I might… take you up on that…" I say as water glistens in my eyes. I quickly blink it away. "I just… can't deal with this right now 'Kura…" Why the hell did I use his nick-name now of all times?-? "I… need some time to think…" think of how I can stand up to my dad, how I can make sure he won't hurt either of us… _

_Think of how to get rid of this fear._

"_Take all the time you need…" Bakura says quietly, but I can still hear him._

_It became increasingly hard to look at him then, so I turn away. "Thanks… 'Kura…" again with that nick-name…_

"_On one condition," he continues, walking towards me again. I look at him questioningly before he pecks me on the lips again and smirks, probably laughing at how red my face goes. He keeps his face close to mine as he says, "You have to dream of me tonight, and I'll dream of you."_

_I blush redder than a red ant. "Wh… What kind of condition is that?" I ask, already thinking that I'd be happy to keep it - every day of my life if he wants, "How would you be able to tell if I even kept it or not?"_

"_Because I trust you Marik," he says, his lips still aggravatingly close to mine, "and because of tonight… that never happened…"_

_I shut my mouth, I can't help but think about leaning in again and claiming those close lips as mine again… But I can't… I open my mouth to say, "Right. Never happened…" That's really the best option… isn't it? I walk away, but after a few feet I turn around with a cocky smirk - my previous blush still not gone yet. "I think I'll have sweet dreams tonight…" I say before turning around and running off. _I need to not be so afraid,_ I told myself, _I need to stand up to my dad… I need to make him never hurt me or _anyone_ else ever again, I need to -

_My thoughts are interrupted when I hear Bakura yell to the air angrily, "You no-good, girly, hear-crushing, in-denial, confusing, cowardly, _princess **fruitcake!**_" My feet automatically stop and my heart cracks - is that how he really feels? "You idiotic, annoying, arrogant, childish, argumentative _**jerk!**_You… You Jewelry-wearing, make-up'd, vegetarian, _**Purple Boy!**_" _

_I stand there, tears threatening my eyes again. I wipe them away hurriedly before running off again. _I'm sorry…_ I think_, I'm sorry I'm such a coward… I'm sorry we can't be together…

At least right now.

_I start running again, determined to get past my stupid fears and stand up to my dad. This was my life! I should live it for me, not my father! I was determined that by this time tomorrow, I could tell 'Kura that I was done thinking and maybe kiss him again, and get together for real this time…_

_But doing that had seemed so much easier when it was just a thought, when it came to me actually trying to do that, I froze up, not solving anything. Even after all I'd told myself, even after all I'd went through tonight… even after I dreamed of what it would be like to be with 'Kura every day, to kiss him again…_

_It was all for naught against years of built-up fear and pain._

* * *

It was silent as Melvin finished re-reading it and I was done re-living it. At this time, I was now leaning my back against the bathroom door. "… Marik," he said finally, in one of his rare, serious moments, "you need to stand up to dad."

I grind my teeth. "I know," I said, "I know Melvin, but it's harder than you think! For years he hurt me, hurt those closest to me… really the reason you were abused so much is because you stood up for me, taking the place of dad's anger against me and putting it on yourself… I'm sorry for that…

"I wish I had opted out first," I told him jealously, angrily, "I wish I had come out of the closet first, he probably wouldn't have cared. After all, I wasn't the first born boy, you were. He would have kicked me out, sure, but at least I wouldn't be so damn afraid all the time.

"You're lucky, you don't have to worry about dad anymore, he doesn't even consider you his child anymore. Every time we mentioned your name… dad just ignored us, telling us that you didn't exist. Not anymore.

"You know when you left he threw all his anger on me? All his hopes and pain… he might as well have told me, "Have a child or die" he was so aggressive…"

It was silent once more as Melvin took this in. "Marik," he said, "he did the same thing to me, only he actually told me, "Have a son or I'll kill you myself." I rebelled a lot Marik… it wasn't just your fault, he actually hurt me more when you weren't around, it was actually your presence that calmed him down somehow.

"I knew that if I didn't give him what he wanted that he would kill me too, but I stood up for myself anyway Marik, don't you remember when me and dad fought that night? He had tried to kill me, just like you think he'll do to you. But I had won, I had showed him that I wasn't going to listen to him anymore, and since he couldn't kill me he just kicked me out."

"Things have changed!" the words tore from my mouth along with a few hot tears, "Now I'm his last resort, he won't just leave me alone…! He'll hunt me down and kill me! And Bakura…" I whispered the last part, I didn't want Melvin to know that part, I hadn't even written _that_ particular fear down in my journal, so paranoid if someone might read it…

Melvin was silent though, and it was obvious he heard me when he said, "Ah, now I get it." He unlocked the bathroom door (almost knocking me on my back in the process) and emerged, leaving me to wipe away my tears quickly. I didn't want him to know I had been crying… He knelt down and put his hand on my shoulder. "Marik," he said, trying to be stern yet comforting and only failing slightly, "Bakura can take care of himself, don't worry about him. You shouldn't worry about anything except standing up to dad, and making yourself happy," he leaned forward, trying to look into my eyes, "do you even _want_ a child…?"

"No," I say, my voice cracking, "I'd be a horrible father…! I don't know the first thing about raising a child…"

"Then tell dad that," Melvin said, "tell him your thoughts Marik! It's your life Marik, you should live it the way _you_ want, not the way anyone else wants!" he smirked, getting back to his more joking self, "Not even the way 'Kura wants, okay?"

I raise an eyebrow, eager to get my mind off dad. "What do you mean by that last part?"

He chuckles, "Oh Marik, I think you _know_ what I mean by that~!" he teased suggestively.

My face goes red. "Melvin! That's so _gross!_"

"Oh come on!" Melvin says, "like you haven't thought about it?"

"I _haven't_ actually!"

"I bet 'Kura has…"

"Stop calling him that!"

He pouts. "But both you and Ry-chi call him that…"

"You and your god-damn Japanese nick-names…"

"They're called honorifics brother, and they're very nice."

"Whatever… Give me back my journal."

He smirks and locks himself back in the bathroom. I stand up and pound on the door again. "Melvin!" I yell, "Get out here!"

"But it's safer in here!" he says, "so that night is when he started calling you Purple Boy right? The night you _K-I-S-S-E-D~!_"

My face erupts in flames again. "S-so what?-!" I ask.

"Well… that means that he still remembers that night! Right~? So that means that he _L-O-_"

"STOP TALKING STOP TALKING STOP TALKING STOP TALKING STOP TALKING STOP TALKING -" I repeat loudly, making sure I can't hear him finish that sentence.

Just then, I hear a car pull up, I turn just in time to see a blue mini-van park in the driveway. I know that car belongs to Ryou, so I tell Melvin, "Ryou's here!"

"Really?" he asks happily, "Ry-chan is here~?" he runs out of the bathroom, throwing my journal at my head, "Take your crummy diary! My little sugar-plum is here~!"

I roll my eyes. Stupid nick-names… _Much_ lamer than the ones Bakura comes up with for me.

… Did I seriously just think that?

"Just tell your 'sugar-plum' to get in here and -" I stop short as I see someone else come out of the car.

Bakura.

I look down at the journal in my hands and my face pales. No, I can't handle him right now…! Not with this in my hands, not with that night fresh on my mind! Not when it seems like he's been avoiding me!-! I turn to look at Melvin who stopped short just before he opened the front door. He smirks. "Oh," he said knowingly, "did I forget to tell you that Bakura was helping Ryou move in today too~? Must have slipped my mind!"

I blink at him before rage washes over me. "I'll kill you!" I hiss at him. I run towards the kitchen to escape through the back door, but the door-handle's missing… _WHY?-!_

"Oh, by the way," Melvin said, clearly enjoying himself too much, "the back door's broken."

I turn and give him a glare so fierce that he actually takes a step back. Damn, I must have been bat-shit scary for _him_ to take a step back. "You can hide in my room if you want," he offers, gesturing to the stairs. Without a word, I storm up the stairs and hide in his bedroom, hoping that Bakura won't come up here…

* * *

Hmm… I have mixed feelings about this chapter, tell me what you think! PLEEEAAASE~! Do Marik's fears seem believable? I swear, when I first started it I had no idea I was going to have so much angst… ^^" Ah well… It fits.

I'll try to get to the next chapter soon 'cause I really like this =D So many plans…

OH! Before I forget, how are my kissing scenes? I've never actually kissed anyone before, so I just go off of what I've read + my own creativity… is it realistic? Like… at all? ^^" I tend to worry about that… even if it may not seem like it… XD

PLEASE TELL ME YOUR OPINION.

~~~{anonymous REVIEW REPLIES}~~~

**Pockyfeind**: Haha, did you like this chapter? XD Thanks for reviewing =)


	3. No Way!

_**I think you guys will like this chapter ;)**_

* * *

_**Bakura**_

I slammed the blue car door angrily, my journal tucked under my arm. I didn't want it to be in Ryou's possession anymore, it was so… disrespectful. Or something like that. I glared at my brother as he got out of the driver's seat, but he just smiled at me. "I'm sorry," he said, "but I just couldn't help myself…"

I snorted, "You're usually so polite Ryou… Melvin's changed you."

"He has not!" Ryou denied.

I roll my eyes. "Whatever, let's just move your stuff into this crappy house…"

"It's not crappy!" Ryou defended Melvin's house. Actually, it shouldn't even be called a house, it's more of a shack. A small shack. A hobbit-hole even… Maybe I should have Ryou and Melvin move into my house instead, and I'll move into this one… I don't really trust that psycho alone with my brother, especially not in these cramped quarters…

"Okay!" Ryou said, walking to his trunk and opening his back door, "Time to move in!" He picked up a box and handed it to me, "Here, take this one please," he asked.

I put my journal on top of it and took it from him. "Do you already have a key?"

"Melvin leaves his door open."

"Figures." _Cocky, overconfident jerk…_ I think.

Ryou grabbed another box and started walking towards the front door, I followed him, my mindset being, "Get this done quickly so I can go home and do… something…" I still had no idea what I should do for the rest of the day, maybe me and Ryou could hang out. We haven't really done that since we were in high school… alone anyways, I see him almost every day but that's with everyone else too.

You know I should really spray-paint my journal black some day… The purple-ness of it keeps causing me to look at it, and causing you-know-who's face to pop into my head (and increasing you-know-what). I shake my head slightly to clear it, but then Ryou asks, "Do you really think of Marik _every_ time you see purple?" I can tell he's just curious, just like he can tell that I'm pissed off by his question because the only way he cold have possibly known that was by _reading my journal_.

"Every. Single. Time!" I say through grinded teeth, "It's bloody annoying…"

Ryou giggled. "I'm sure it is," he says almost-sarcastically. It sounds like he's just saying that to drop the matter, but he doesn't really believe me… Feh, whatever you want to believe Ryou.

I wait (impatiently) as Ryou opens the door. We walk inside, and I can't help but notice that this place is actually _clean_, huh, hadn't been expecting that. Actually, I don't know what I had been expecting Melvin's place to look like, but _clean_ definitely wasn't it. I walk into the living room and my eyes are immediately drawn to one, sole, single entity in the room.

A violet in a purple pot.

My eye starts to twitch as I think of Marik sniffing that delicate flower, and then I'd come up behind him and - never mind… Stupid heart and mind combo… Soon I imagine that flower being stomped on repeatedly, and then thrown into a furnace, and then the ashes being taken out and thrown into the ocean, dissipating into the water forever…

"I love you 'Kura…" I hear an all-too-familiar voice whisper bashfully in my ear. My eyes widen as my face turns so red you probably couldn't even see my mouth anymore and I turn my head to see if it's _really_ who I think it is or if my mind is playing tricks on me.

… Oh my gosh! It's actually Marik! I swear my heart goes a million miles an hour as I think over what he just told me (the fact that our faces were close didn't help)… Why so sudden? What changed his mind after all this time? I look into his eyes to try and find the answers - oh wait… no, that's not Purple Boy's eyes… _**MELVIN!**_ I growl dangerously as the boy in front of me starts laughing his head off. "Y-you," Melvin manages to say between laughter, "you should have seen your face!" he howled with more laughter as my eyes started to twitch and my grip tightens around the box. "I bet you _wish_ that Marik had actually told you that~!" he guessed. My face shot up again (probably turned damn purple) and I dropped the box along with my diary and lunged for the asshole. I tackled him to the ground easily enough since he was still laughing and, therefore, off balance (I probably couldn't have done that if he had been ready), and then I began to choke him, my eyes hazing over with red. "You _bastard!_" I yelled, do you _know_ how mean it is to do that to someone who's been waiting to hear those exact words for _so freaking long?_ …

…Um, I mean… Never mind, "_**I'll kill you!**_" I yell, the smile disappears off of his face as he finds it harder and harder to breath. Just a few more seconds ought to do it…

Just then Ryou came and tried to pry my hands off. "Please Bakura!" he begged, glaring at Melvin in the next second, "Don't kill him!" I tighten my hold for one last moment before releasing it all together, enjoying when Melvin starts to sputter and gasp for air. Serves you right you uncaring, idiotic _jerk!_ I stand up and pick up the box again, counting to ten slowly. _Very_, slowly.

Eventually Melvin stands up rubbing his throat, he looks at Ryou who has a disapproving look on his face. The white-haired boy crosses his arms and says, "That was too mean Melvin! Why would you even do that?"

Melvin actually looked apologetic. "I thought it would be funny…"

Ryou glared at him before sighing and rubbing his temples. "No sweets for you tonight…" he mumbles.

Melvin's draw drops. "What?" he says like that's the worst thing in the world, "But you always give me sweets!"

"Well you should have thought about that before you spoke without thinking!"

"Are you talking about food or something else?" I comment angrily. I'm still ticked off, and when I'm ticked off I get mean, and when I get mean no one is safe - not even my brother.

Ryou's face flushes but Melvin just smirks. "We're talking about whatever you _think_ we're talking about Bakura," he says, making me wish I _had_ killed him just now.

Ryou hits him in the stomach, "We're talking about food!"

"Suuure you are," I comment sarcastically.

Ryou's face flushes more, but he doesn't say anything. Then Melvin notices the purple book on top of the box I'm holding. "What's that?" he asks curiously, tilting his head to the side and pointing at it.

It really sucked that he noticed my journal too, because I had just stopped blushing and now my face enflamed again. If he reads this thing I'm _dead_. "Oh, it's just… um…" I stop trying to think of what it could be as I see his face light up in a mischievous smile. Crap, he knows…!

"Is it a _diary~?_" he asks knowingly. He tries to grab it from me, but I turn just at the last second. I dropped the box again (this thing would probably break soon if I kept dropping it) so I can hold my journal protectively against my chest. But of course that just makes him more interested. "You must have some _really_ embarrassing stuff in there if you won't let me read it!"

"Can't be any more embarrassing than the stuff you wrote in Ryou's memory book!"

Melvin's eyes widen and he stops trying to reach for the thing. Oddly enough, his face went red. Dang, I had _never_ seen that arrogant guy blush before, I felt like I had accomplished a lot…

"Please tell me you didn't read any of it…" he says weakly.

Since the guy had already royally pissed me off today, I decided to torture him some more.

I smirk evilly, "Okay, I didn't read any of it… I read the _whole thing_."

His face went up in horror and he took a step back. Dang, maybe I should read this thing… "The whole…" he turned to Ryou who was shaking his head furiously, guiltily. "He's lying!" Ryou insisted, "He didn't even open it!"

Melvin's face washed over in relief - he instantly believed Ryou since he never lied. Then he glared at me, opening his mouth as if about to tell me off, but then he blinked and he looked contemplative. He smiled and said, "I guess I deserved that from before…"

"Yeah," I agreed, "you did."

Melvin laughed, happy that I hadn't actually read whatever the hell he had written in that book. "But you must understand why I need to read that book you're holding~!"

"No, I _don't_ understand," I say as I dodge another of his attempts to grab my journal.

"I bet it's all about _Marik~!_"

"No it's not!" I deny, my face going red again. Damn it all! When will the blushing end?-!

"I wouldn't be surprised if it _is_," he continued, "considering Marik's diary is all about you."

My eyes widen and I stop dodging, instead putting my hand to his forehead and holding him at arm's length. "He has a journal?"

Melvin smirks. "You mean a diary? Yeah, and it stars his _boyfriend_ 'Kura~!"

My face goes red at the word 'boyfriend.' "R… Really?" I ask, not really sure how to take that. He has a journal too… and I'm in it? I _star_ in it? I gotta read this thing! What did he write? Does this book tell if he likes me or not? Or -

_Does he have that one night in there too?_ I think, _Will I finally know what ran through his head that night…?_

Melvin chuckles, interrupting my thoughts. "That sure made you lose your focus." It was then that I realized the Melvin was no longer being held at arm's length from me, and that my journal was now in his hands. He had it open to the middle and started reading aloud, " 'Dear journal -' " I didn't even let him finish the rest as I kicked him in the shin and grabbed my journal from him. I glare at him angrily as he just smirks. "You know," he says haughtily, "I actually managed to read a few sentences from there…"

I narrow my eyes. "Which ones?"

He chuckled deeply, "Oh, I'll never tell~!"

I snarl at him, but then Ryou intervenes, "Guys!" he says, "I do actually want to move in today, so could we please stop this…?"

Melvin smiles warmly at his boyfriend, "Sure thing Ry!" he says as he hugs him, "You know I'd do anything for ya~!"

Ryou smiles as he hugs him back, "Likewise!" I roll my eyes, where's a garbage can when you need one? "Okay!" Ryou says, getting out of the embrace and getting down to business, " 'Kura, put that box in…" he looked at Melvin for a split second who smirked and nodded, "Melvin's bedroom," Ryou finished with a slightly mischievous smile.

I raise my eyebrow suspiciously at them. They're planning something, I just know it… "What's in that room…?" I ask as I pick up the box I kept dropping, putting my journal on top of it.

"Nothing!" Ryou and Melvin say at the same time, making me _sure_ that there's _something_ in his bedroom.

"I swear," I say as I walk up the stairs, "if something pops out at me or something sprays me I'm going to kill both of you…"

"Oh, it's nothing like that~!" Melvin assured, "My door is the first one on the right!" he calls to me just a little louder than necessary.

"Whatever," I say as I reach the top stair. I walk up to his front door and open it cautiously, I _really_ don't want anything popping out at me… But there's nothing surprising here, it looks just like a normal bedroom. "Well, there's no surprises so far…" I walk into the middle of the room as I decide where to put this box, "Where do you want this?" I call down to Ryou, "On the bed?"

I hear a lot of scuttling and hushed whispering before Melvin says, "Put it in the closet!" I roll my eyes, how hard is it to decide where to put a freaking _box?_ I walk over to the closet and open it, and to my surprise there was a boy inside that closet. A Purple Boy to be exact. I blink at him, wondering why the hell he was inside Melvin's closet.

* * *

"Marik…?" I say, almost expecting him to disappear in the next moment, "What are you doing in there…?"

He gives me a sheepish smile, "Oh, I was just uh… helping Melvin organize…" he said lamely.

Great, so Marik's actually here… A flash of last Saturday came to me, reminding me why I hadn't wanted to see him today… A wave of unwanted emotions pass through me: sadness, anger, jealousy… but what I revealed on the surface was my want to get out of here as soon as possible, I can't… deal with this right now.

I sort of feel like Marik at that night.

I give him a look of incredulousness, "With the door closed?" I ask, not buying his excuse but not sure why he was in the closet either.

"…" Marik was silent as he avoided my gaze.

I rolled my eyes. "Just get out of the freaking closet already! I have to put this box in there," _and then leave_, I added to myself.

"Right…" Marik said, his voice noticeably small. He was about to walk out when he looked at the top of the box I was holding, his eyes widen slightly. "What's that?" he asked.

I follow his gaze until it rested on my journal… _Oh crap!_ My eyes widen and my face flushes, _Damn it!_ I think, _I should have left this thing in the car!_ I think of how embarrassed I'll be if he reads this thing - all of my personal thoughts, all of my desires, all those things about the boy in front of me…! He can't read this thing!-! "Th-th-that's…" I stutter, my heart speeding up rapidly, "a… book…" I finished stupidly. Of course it's a freaking book Bakura! What am I? A genius?

Marik raised an eyebrow at me. "I can _see_ it's a book, what kind of book is it?"

"Uh…" I stall, trying to think of something, _fast_, "It's just a book I wrote…" well, I'm not lying am I? I push past him and put the box on the top shelf of the closet, trying my best to calm myself the heck down. I grab my _stupid purple journal_ and spin on my heels, ready to get the heck out of there before Marik asks any more questions, but just as I'm about to step into the hallway the door slams in my face. I blink at the sudden closed door before trying the door handle - but it was locked! I thought bedroom doors only locked form the inside?-! I jiggle the handle some more, my heart rate increasing till I can't hear anything else, I feel fear and dread rest in the pit of my stomach as another blush comes to my face. Am I seriously locked in here with Marik?-? My question is answered when I hear familiar snickering on the other end. I feel rage boil inside me before I start pounding on the door. "MELVIN!" I yell, "YOU OPEN THIS BLOODY DOOR RIGHT NOW!-!-!"

"Why?" he answered, "I think you and your boyfriend need to talk~!" he taunted.

I blushed, but I didn't want to say… the b word in front of Marik so I couldn't deny it. "Ryou!" I called, trying a different approach, "Let me out of here!"

Melvin laughed, "He's the one who thought of this plan!" he informed me, "There's no way he's letting you out of there!" I stop struggling, realizing that I _wasn't_ getting out of here… it was one of those handles that locked from both ends. "Me and Ryou are going to go see a movie," Melvin said, making panic rise in my throat, "see you in a few hours love-birds~!"

I heard Melvin stomp down the stairs, but then I heard Ryou whisper through the door, "Sorry 'Kura, I think this is for the best…" then he walked downstairs, joining his boyfriend.

"RYOU!" I cried, but it was too late - I heard the front door slam, leaving me and Marik locked in here… all alone…

I stand there, my fists still pressed against the door, I was starting to shake with anger, everything was becoming red again… "I _hate_ your brother…" I hiss to the only other person in the room.

"Melvin said it was _Ryou's_ idea, so why do you hate my brother?"

I turn around and glare at him. "Because no doubt yours caused this!"

"Why do you always blame everything on Melvin? Has it ever occurred to you that Ryou could be just as devious if not _more_ so than him?"

I shake my head. "Nope, no way could Ryou have thought of this without outside help."

"You just can't handle the fact that '_nice and innocent Ryou_' might be as bad as you, can you?" Marik snapped at me.

I was about to retort when I thought, _What's the point? He's right,_ and slumped down so that I was sitting, leaning my back against the door. I sighed, then I started hitting my purple journal against my head repeatedly. " 'Kura!" Marik scolded, confiscating the book from me, "What is hitting your head going to solve?" He glared at me and then eyed the book curiously. He cracked it open…

I took it back faster than it took to blink, my face positively red. "Don't read that," I say forcefully, the purple journal tucked against my chest.

He looked at me thoughtfully, then held up an identical purple book in his hands. He smirks at me. "I'll let you read mine if you let me read yours," he offers.

I narrow my eyes at him. If he'd make a deal like that, he must not care about what's written inside. But Melvin said I was in it, said that it was _all about me_… he probably just lied so he could take my journal from me. Asshole. "No thanks."

He smiles happily (probably because he realizes what this thing is and what's written inside) and then sits down next to me - so close that we're _almost_ touching. I feel like scooting in closer, but then a memory comes back to me, making me remember why I hadn't wanted to see him today. I turn my head away from him, bring my knees up and hug them to my chest, my journal tucked safely between them. "Hey," Marik says, poking me in the side, "stop avoiding me."

I scowl. "I'm not avoiding you," I deny.

"Oh really?" he asks, his voice incredulous, "Then why won't you look at me?"

I turn to him and glare. "Do you remember last Saturday? I called you up to hang out and you said you were busy?"

I resisted the urge to start yelling by grinding my teeth as I saw Marik look confused. "Yes," he says, not knowing what I'm getting at, "you're avoiding me because I didn't hang out with you on Saturday?" he asks.

I sigh. "You really are an idiot…" I mumble before saying, "I'm not mad at you for _that_, I'm mad because of what you _did_ do on Saturday. Do you remember how you spent that day Marik?"

* * *

_**Marik**_

I blinked at Bakura. Last Saturday? I rack my brain trying to remember. "Last Saturday I was…" I pause. I was hanging out with some girl my father found for me on Saturday, Crystal.

Bakura snorted at me. "Remember now?" he asked sourly.

I look at him oddly. "I was just hanging out with Crystal, why?"

He rested his head on his arms and knees so that only his eyes were visible. "Is that your _girlfriend?_" he asked sarcastically and angrily. And… jealously?

I find a goofy grin making it's way across my face. " 'Kura," I start out, my voice happy, "are you… jealous?"

I see his eyes widen and his face turn red before he turns away from me again. "Of course not!" he says, making me more convinced that he _was_, in fact, jealous, "That's completely ridiculous! What would I have to be jealous of?"

"I don't know," I say, putting my arm around his shoulders and leaning in so I can whisper in his ear, "maybe because I was hanging out with her instead of you?"

He doesn't say anything.

I chuckle, my whole day just got ten times brighter with this new discovery. "Don't worry 'Kura, I'd rather hang with you than anyone else," I assure him.

He doesn't say anything for a moment, but then he asks, "Then why were you with _her?_"

I resist the urge to laugh - he just sounded so _jealous_ when he said 'her!' "My dad set the date up," I told him, "he wants me to get a girlfriend."

He turned his head to look at me, but his cheek was still resting on his knee. He raised an eyebrow, "Doesn't your dad know you're gay?"

I smile, "You seem to have forgotten that too 'Kura, with how _jealous_ you were."

He blushes and his eye starts to twitch, "I'm not jealous!" he insists, "I just want to know why you were hanging out with some _girl_ instead of your best friend."

I laugh. Oh 'Kura… I didn't know you were the jealous type. "To answer your question," I say finally, "my dad _doesn't_ know I'm gay." It's weird how I can say that so easily, I guess it doesn't matter since it's Bakura, but still…

"So…" Bakura says, trying to figure out how to phrase what he wants to say, "your dad sets up blind dates for you?"

"Yup."

"But…" he scrunches his eyebrows together, "Aren't you just… leading them on?"

I sigh. "Not really… it's like they can just _tell_ I don't like them that way."

Bakura smirks. "It's because of your hoodie Marik - admit it. It's a _big_ red flag."

I glare at him. "It. Is. _Not_. A. Red. _Flag!_"

"You're right, it's a _purple_ flag."

I groan, making him laugh. I smile at him, "So you were avoiding me because of Crystal?"

Bakura avoided my gaze. "You just looked like you were having so much fun with her…" _much more fun than with me_, I could hear what he wanted to say in the following silence.

I chuckle. "Just because I have fun with other people doesn't mean I have the _most_ fun with them 'Kura, but she was better than most of the girls I've met."

Bakura raised an eyebrow at me, that jealous look on his face again. "And what's _that_ supposed to mean?"

I smile. "She didn't try to win me over or pretend to be someone else to get me to like her, she was being _herself_, just like you're always yourself." A memory came back to me at that moment:

"_You don't like girls, do you Marik?" Crystal asked me as we were eating at a slightly-fancy restaurant._

_I started choking on the noodles and vegetables in my mouth. I drank some water to get it down before saying, "Wh-what gives you that idea?"_

_She smiled. "Because most boys stare at a girl's chest when they think she's not looking, but you always looked at my face or at the table or something. Plus," she said with a smile, "you keep talking about your 'best friend' and what he would do or say. Is he your…?"_

_My face goes crimson. "No!" I yell, causing a few people to look at us and making me more embarrassed. _

_Crystal laughed. "Marik, you seem like a really nice guy and I like you and all, but let's face it," she smiled again. She had a nice smile, it was kind and warm, unlike most fake smiles I see girls wear, "I'm not your type am I?"_

_I blink at her and then smile and laugh. "I guess not…"_

"_Why'd you even agree to this date?"_

_I sigh. "My dad… he wants to have grandkids…"_

_She laughed. "_Every_ dad wants to have grandkids, but you can adopt."_

_I shake my head. "He wants a 'blood grandson.' " _

_She looked at me and then picked up her water glass. "Well, you know what your _dad_ wants," she said before holding the glass up to her lips, "now what do _you_ want?" she asks before taking a sip._

_I put my elbow on the table and lean my head against it, "I want… to be with 'Kura…"_

"_Is that your best friend's name?" she asked._

_I smile, "His nick-name anyways."_

_She giggled. "You already have pet-names… are you sure you're not already together and you just don't know it?"_

_I blush again. "I'm sure…"_

_She smiled at me. "Well, I just want to see you be happy Marik," she said before taking out a piece of paper and a pencil from her purse. She scrawled something on it and handed it to me, it was her phone number. "When you have what you want, give me a call and we can talk, 'cause I'd still like to be friends with you."_

_I smile at her. "Thanks, but standing up to my dad won't be easy…"_

"_Who said you have to do it alone?" she said, surprising me, "Why don't you bring this " 'Kura" guy with you and you can _both_ confront your dad."_

_I blink at her. "That's… but…"_

_She giggled. "Look, to me it's obvious you like this friend of yours, so just tell him already and confront your dad together! Tell your father that you'll adopt, or get someone to have a baby for you. Heck, _I'll_ do it! If you want anyways."_

_I blink at her, surprised by how… _cool_ she is. First, she finds out she's on a date with a gay man and _that_ doesn't phase her, like, _at all, _and__ she wants to be friends_. _And then she offers to have a baby for me…? It's too bad I'm not straight, I think I could really like her. She'll make a good husband for some other lucky guy though. I smile at her, "Thanks but… I'm not sure if _I_ want kids…" _

_She smiled. "Well, do whatever makes you happy Marik. And please, stop leading any more poor girls on - do you know how good you look man? Seriously! Get off the market!"_

_I laugh, certain she's just joking._

I smile as I get out of my memory. But I'm not sure if I can tell 'Kura yet… maybe a little later, like tomorrow or something, but right now… I just want to enjoy the present. But I _have_ to admit, he looks so _cute_ when he's jealous~!

I smirk at him eventually, "Yup. You're always yourself. Except for now 'cause you're so _jealous!_"

Bakura glares at me, and his face blushes lightly. "I. Am. Not. _Jealous!_"

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Jealous 'Kura-Kitty…" I mumble the last sentence.

He heard me anyways since we were so close (my arm was still around his shoulders), "I AM NOT JEALOUS!" he yells, his face flushing more, "Gosh! What do I have to do to prove that to you?"

I laugh, "I don't know," I say, "kiss me?" I added without thinking. Both our faces flushed, and we looked away from each other. I slowly removed my arm from his shoulders. "S-sorry…" I say, "I don't know why I said that."

"I do," Bakura said. He didn't say anything afterwards.

"… Why then?" I ask, curious.

He looked at me with sad eyes. "Do you remember that night Marik?" he asked me, I knew instantly which night he was referring to, "At all? Anything from it?"

I look down. "I remember all of it 'Kura…" I say softly.

He looks forward, his eyes going out of focus.

* * *

_**Bakura**_

He remembers… all of it…

He remembers it, but how does he _feel_ about it is the question… but will he answer me? Will he actually tell me, or will he say he just can't, that he's not ready.

Will he tell me how he feels? Or will he say he's still thinking…

I wish I could ask him, I wish that he would tell me, I wish that he would whisper the very words Melvin whispered to me this morning…

Okay, that sounded weird, even for me. Stupid Melvin…

But still, I'd love to hear those words pass through his perfect lips, mere seconds before connecting to my own. Just like he suggested… You know, why is _he_ always the one to suggest us kissing? You are so contradictory Marik!

"You want to know why my dad sets me up on all these dates?" he finally says.

"Why?" I ask, noticing how he changed the subject. But still, I'm curious.

"Because he wants me to have children…"

_Children_, the words rings in my head. Is that why he's so hesitantly gay? Because he knows his dad wants kids? But why would he care about that, he told me his dad was the worst. Why would he care about what his dad wanted?

"But I don't want children…" Marik continued, not looking at me as much as I'm not looking at him. The air is heavy with awkwardness, and it's crushing my chest a fair amount. "I just _know_ I'd make a horrible parent…"

Something in me snaps, defusing any previous awkwardness I felt. "Hold on," I say, turning to him, not believing I heard him right, "_you'd_ make a horrible parent?" I ask incredulously

He looks at me confused. "Yeah, I know I would."

We look at each other before I burst out laughing. Now I'm clutching my chest because I'm laughing to hard - he honestly thinks he'd make a horrible parent? That's hilarious! "Marik," I say when I've clamed down a bit, "have you _seen_ yourself with kids? You'd make a great parent!"

Marik looked at me like I was crazy. "What are you talking about?"

"Remember last month, we were walking home from the movies and you passed a kid who was crying while his mom was busy on the phone and not paying attention? You made all these funny faces and started talking to him to cheer him up, and when he was happy again you were all smiles and in a great mood."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"And that one time when a little kid tugged on your shirt and asked you a random question? You answered, he asked another question, you answered, he asked _another_ stupid question and you answered etc. etc. etc. until he finally left you alone? You didn't get mad at the kid _once!_ I couldn't have done that…"

"I still don't see -"

"And that one time! You and me were going to go out, but then a mother in your building had to go out for an errand really quick and asked you to watch her daughter and you made me help you? You were _really_ good with her - that girl said she had the best day _ever_ with you."

Marik blinked at me. "Those… none of those things… They were all temporary, if I had to watch a kid permanently I'd go nuts."

I chuckle. "Yeah right! You're happier around little kids - they probably remind you of a simpler time, don't they?"

Marik looked to the side. "That's true…" he admitted.

"Face it Marik," I say, amused by his belief that he wouldn't make a good parent, "you'd be a _great_ dad, you have the patience for it. Raising a kid requires patience. If anything, _I'd_ be the horrible parent, I don't have patience for anything."

Marik looked at me like I was crazy again. "Are you kidding?" he said, "You were a _big_ help with that girl I was babysitting."

I raised an eyebrow, "I got angry and yelled at her - how is that a big help?"

"She was being a brat - you straightened her out. I couldn't have done that, I couldn't yell at a kid. Raising children may require patience, but it also requires discipline."

"Huh," I say, thoughtful. I never thought of myself as a dad, although I must admit babysitting that one kid wasn't _so_ bad, it was actually kind of fun… Until she tried to be in control, then she just needed to be told what she could and couldn't do. I put my hands behind my head and say, "Yeah, we'd make great parents."

… Bakura, you really need to think before you speak…

I face-palm myself, my face red, the only consolation is that Marik's face is red too. "D-did we seriously just talk about how we'd make great parents?-!" Marik asked, his voice getting high-pitched at the end.

"Yes…" I answer. We look at each other, and then we promptly burst out laughing. Dang, is there any conversation we _haven't_ had? I don't think there is! We _both_ need to think before we talk! We keep laughing and howling, the hilarity of our conversation hitting us like a car crashing through a window. What is with us and these random conversations?

When we clam down a bit, Marik rests his head on my shoulder, a huge smile still planted on his face. "There's gotta be something wrong with us," he says.

"You know that phrase," I say, " 'Young and stupid.' "

Marik looks at me with a suggestive smile, "Or how about, "Young and in love'?"

I flush and punch him playfully on the shoulder, but he surprises me by wincing in pain. I didn't punch him _that_ hard, and I _know_ he can take a punch (countless fights have proven that). "What's wrong?" I ask.

"Nothing," he says _way_ too quickly.

"I know it's _something_ Marik, what is it?"

"It's just my back…" he says.

* * *

_**Marik**_

As soon as Bakura punched me in the arm, pain shot from my shoulder to my back. Or more precisely, to the scars on my back. You see, two days ago I was walking home to my apartment and I accidentally slipped on some juice or something someone spilled on the sidewalk. I fell down on my back, and the collision caused some of my scars to ache and reopen. Now there was always a slight buzz of pain, but I could ignore that, but I couldn't ignore the sharp pain that came from that playful punch that was just a _little_ harder than necessary (but that's just how Bakura does it).

"Your back?" he questions, "What's wrong with your back?"

I smile nervously - I don't want him to see the scars on my back, I _don't_. "Oh, I just… burned myself there, no big deal."

Bakura raised an eyebrow. "When did you burn it?"

"Not too long ago."

"We should take care of that!" Bakura said, his voice disapproving but also slightly caring, "Let me see it."

"No!" the word tears from my lips before I can stop it, "I mean… No thanks, it's fine."

"Really?" he asks, "Then it doesn't hurt when I do this?" he pats me on the back, causing sharp bursts of pain to come through. I want to scream, but instead I just close my eyes to try and ease the pain. I open them in the next second and give a brave smile, "Not a bit," I lie.

Bakura glared at me. "Marik, for god's sake take off your shirt! I'm trying to help you. Geez, if it hurts that much you should go to a hospital you crazy boy, you crazy _Purple_ Boy."

I groan. "Stop calling me that already, it's been a _year_."

"Don't change the subject Marik."

I roll my eyes. "It's fine!"

"If it's fine then why won't you let me see it?" Crap, he's starting to sound suspicious… I've got to come up with something, quick!

"I just don't want to take off my shirt in front of you," I say, going for the 'it'd be awkward approach.' Of course now that I've got _that_ thought in my head I can't help but blush now.

Bakura rolls his eyes. "Oh please," he said, "I've seen you in a swimsuit - it's not like you have anything to be embarrassed about."

My face flushes more and I look at him. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?" I ask.

He smirks. "It means you look dead sexy Marik, now take off your freaking shirt before I _rip it off_."

I swallow. He'd probably actually do it… "Please don't…" I say quietly, causing his face to turn serious and questioning, "Please…" Flashes of my dad holding the knife come to my head, my scars start to tingle again, prickling pain. I close my eyes, but of course that only make 'Kura more suspicious. He pulls the back of my hoodie up before I can stop him and gasps. I shut my eyes even tighter before taking my hoodie off all the way, showing him my father's handiwork.

* * *

_**Bakura**_

What I saw on Marik's back shocked me to my very core.

There were _carvings_ on his back, not only that, but they were in the shape of a grotesque _eye!_

Once his hoodie was all the way off, I reached up and stroked his back, feeling the outline of each scar. "Marik…" I say, "Who…? This is not a burn!" I scold him.

He winces at my touch and tone of voice. "I know…" he says defeated.

"Who did this to you?" I demanded, determined to kill the bastard who did this to my Marik, my Princess, my Purple Boy!

I can see tears threaten against his eyes before he yells, "My dad okay?" he turns around to look at me, disconnecting my hand from his back, putting us face-to-face, "My dad did this to me…" I single tear rolls down his face, I can see so many emotions going through his eyes - pain, fear, sadness, hurt… and disappointment that he let me see them.

"… Why?" I ask quietly, "Why did he do this to you?" I don't understand, I heard the guy was bad, but he _carved into his own son?_ That's not _bad_, that's _insane!_ That's… evil!

Marik looked down, embarrassed. "It was when Melvin got kicked out… All our lives dad pressured us to get married and have kids, so when Melvin told him that wasn't going to happen he got mad and tried to kill him, but Melvin fought back. He got kicked out of the house, but dad was still mad, and I happened to be nearby and…

"He yelled at me again, told me I better have a child or else he'll kill me… Then, to make his point clear, he carved an eye in my back and told me that he'd always be watching…" more tears rolled down his eyes, "Remember when I told you Melvin was the one who cut into my back, but my sister showed up just in time? I lied, it was actually my dad who carved into my back, and my sister showed up too late…"

I stare at him, my mouth slightly agape. I felt a hole tear its way through my chest. His dad said he'd _kill him _if he didn't have a son? No wonder he's like this! He must have been living in constant fear…! especially on that night…

Now I get it.

I finally get it after a freaking year. It was fear, fear of his poor excuse for a father. He was afraid of dying, of being hurt again… No _wonder_ he thought he'd make a horrible dad! His own father experience had been horrible!

I wrap him in my arms, not caring about my journal which fell to the floor with a _thump_. All that mattered was Marik, and right now he needed a friend, and love and care… I am so not used to giving those things.

He wrapped his arms around me as well and buried his head in my shoulder. I faintly noticed that he wasn't wearing a shirt, but really that was a small concern compared to everything else that was going on. "I don't want anymore pain 'Kura…" Marik said, "I don't want him to hurt me… and I _definitely_ don't want him to hurt _you_…" my eyes widen. He was worried his dad would hurt me? I feel like crying myself - does he really care that much about me? Is that another reason why he rejected me that night…? To protect me? I can't think more into this as he says, "I don't want any of that… but, the other thing is…" he looks up at me, staring me directly in the eyes. My heart breaks at the sight of his beautiful violet eyes stained with tears, that does it, I'm going to _kill_ his dad for making him look like this!

I don't have time to think more into how I'm going to murder that bastard of a father as Marik moved his face closer to mine. " 'Kura…" he whispers, his face getting closer and closer, and my face getting warmer and warmer. This can't really be happening…! I must be dreaming! "I love you…" he says right before he kisses me.

* * *

_**Marik**_

I kissed him with everything I had.

I'm done lying, I'm done living in fear, and I'm done hurting 'Kura. Now that Bakura knows about my dad… he'll probably _demand_ to help me talk to him, after all, he seemed really upset when I told him everything I'd been hiding. Crystal was right, we could face him together, and I'll finally be happy - with 'Kura (and hopefully he'll be happy with me, though I'm pretty confident he will be). I'm not going to hold back anymore, I'm not going to be afraid anymore, and I'm not going to worry anymore (so much anyways). Now, I'll enjoy the moment, knowing that the future will take care of itself somehow… Now I can finally relax in Bakura's arms, knowing that together we can take on anything. Even my stupid fears. Even my horrible dad. There's nothing we can't face, as long as we're together. Watch out world! 'Kura and Rika's coming to get you! I felt so happy, _truly_ happy. Not temporarily happy, but _truly_ happy. I finally did it - I told 'Kura how I feel… There's no backing out this time. There's no saying, "I need more time to think." After all, what do I need to think about? I love 'Kura, and I'm pretty damn sure he loves me too. We can deal with my dad later, we can do all that stuff later…With all these thoughts running through my head, only the main emotions came into my kiss: relief, bravery, happiness, determination, and most of all, love…

I love you 'Kura, I've _always_ loved you, from the first day when you pissed me off so much that we ended up fighting and going home with multiple bruises and memories that will last a lifetime… I love everything about you, even your sarcastic, arrogant, insulting personality, even your fluffy hair and porcelain skin that you hate, and especially the way that we're so… natural together. We _do_ argue just like a married couple, don't we? Yes, I especially love the way we talk and communicate. Things are never boring that way, and it's always so fun anyways, even if (when) we get violent. I even love all those ridiculous nicknames you come up with for me, including Purple Boy.

I wish there was a way to tell you that through a simple kiss, but there isn't, not really. And there's no way I could tell you that in person, I'd go to the hospital for heatstroke from blushing so much. But you know… as we continued our kiss and it went deeper, I was being filled with… something… Love, maybe?

With a start I realized what I was feeling - I was feeling 'Kura's love, and it was the exact same as mine. He loved everything about me too, even with all my fears, all my problems, all my grudges, resentments, insecurities, flaws, he loved me… He _loves_ me!

* * *

_**Bakura**_

I kissed him with everything I had.

At first, he had surprised me simply with the use of the word… love… and my shock doubled when I felt him kiss me…

Again, why is it always _him_ who starts this? Especially since he's the one who's got the problems here! Denial of being gay, fears of his father, and yet apparently he… loves me… I need to get used to that. However, you must understand that I was a little, just a _little_ afraid that once we separated that he would… reject me again. I mean, that's what happened the last time - he kissed me, realized what he had done and (remembering the pain his father caused) ran away… Who's to say he won't do it again? What's the difference between then and now?

_The difference is that he told you he loves you_, my brain told me_, the difference is that this time he _can't_ run away. The difference is that this time he's not afraid of his father anymore._ And as that last thought occurs to me, I feel much more than a kiss coming from Marik's end. I feel a set of emotions: relief, bravery, happiness, determination… love…

As I feel those emotions, I can't help but kiss him harder. This time there's no going back Marik, I hope you realize that. Once you tell someone you love them you _can't_ take it back - there's no way I'll let you. No freaking way in _hell_ will I let you back out on me this time!

But as I think that, I realize… I never told him how _I_ feel, that my feelings are the same… did he just assume, did he _know_…? I hope he knows that I love him… Because I do.

I love you Marik, since that first day we met when you actually stood up to me. Most just take my insults and don't talk back, but not you - you bantered with me, made it more interesting, even if we did go home in bruises… I love everything about you, even your sarcastic, arrogant, cocky, childish personality, even the scars on your back that I just discovered… I even love our awkward, stupid, random conversations and arguments - it's just the way we communicate, but it means we'll never be bored with each other, right? And isn't _that_ the truth! I've known and spent over three years with this guy, and I'm still not bored with his slightly predictable habits. I find them to be so… nice, cute, funny, refreshing… _especially_ funny! And loveable… I love you Marik, I even love how every time I see purple I think of you.

I wish I could tell you that, I wish I could explain exactly how I feel to you, but there's no way I could tell you all that without exploding from mere blushing and stuttering nervously and embarrassedly like an idiot… I wish I could tell you all that through a simple kiss, but it's too complicated to send over… But as we continued our kiss and went deeper, I was filled with… something… I couldn't name it.

With a jolt, I realized what I was being filled with: Marik's love. He loved me in the same way, he loved everything about me, even with all my character flaws and all the grief I cause him on a daily basis… he even loved my hair and my skin, which I found impossible to believe. He loved me… He _loves_ me!

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

At one point, Marik stopped kissing me to look into my eyes. He smiled, but then he looked down and realized he wasn't wearing a shirt and his face enflamed. He reached nervously for his purple hoodie, but it was closer to me so I grabbed it. He stared at me, a little scared look in his eye. " 'Kura…" he said sadly, "Please give that back…"

I smirk. "Why? Won't it just come off again in the next few moments?"

His face enflames. "I-I'm… not ready for that 'Kura, I just…" his blush deepened, "Just being here with you… and kissing is enough right now…"

I look at him and smile, bringing him in for a hug. I chuckle in his ear. "It's fine - I'm not ready either," I admit to him.

Marik gets out of the hug and looks into my eyes, an adorable confused expression on his face. God that face makes me want to kiss him again… "But… _you're_ the one who said…?"

"Sure I can _talk_ about it," I said, handing him the hoodie, "but… I mean, I'd feel like we're going way too fast," I smirk, trying to hide the fluttery feeling in my stomach, "after all, you just told me you love me today."

His face blushed deeper red, but he didn't put his shirt on yet. Now I kind of wish he would, because his muscular, flawless chest is really… distracting right now… " 'Kura," he says quietly, as if afraid of something, "I made a promise… to my sister and myself…"

He didn't tell me what the promise was, so I asked, "Are you going to tell me the promise…?"

He looks away, embarrassed. "I promised that… I wouldn't have sex until I was married…"

I scrunch my eyebrows up in confusion. "Oooookaaaaay… and you're point is?" I ask.

He turns to me, his eyes wide in alarm. "S-so… that doesn't bother you?-!" he asks, his voice incredulous.

I smile and lean my face in close to his. "Marik," I say, my breath ghosting over his face. I feel a surge of pride as Marik's head bounces forward before he retreats it back - he wants to kiss me that badly does he? "I love _you_. Not your body, though I must say it's wonderful," I trace his six-pack as I say this, making him blush even more. Though if it's from my words or my tough I'm not sure… I think both. "If you made a promise, you should keep it, I won't force you to get out of it."

Marik blinks at me in astonishment, then brings his face closer so that our foreheads are touching now. He smirks and says, "Are you saying you might possibly consider marriage?" he asks me.

I blush. "Well… we already talked about kids, so marriage was bound to come up somewhere…"

He threw his head back and laughed. "G-good point…!" he said between laughter. I smile at how happy Marik looks - I haven't seen him that happy in… a _long_ time. It makes me happy too, and I find myself laughing too. After a mini-laughing fit, Marik wipes the happy tears from his eyes and puts his revealing shirt back on. "You know," I can't stop myself from saying, "you might as well not wear that thing considering how revealing it is."

His eye starts twitching and I can tell he's going to yell at me, but then his face relaxes. It turns into a mischievous grin and he pounces at me - sending me on my back. He had pinned me at my shoulders, and now he was kneeling over me. He moved his hands from my shoulders to my hands and pinned them to the sides of my head. I blushed. "M-Marik…?" I said, wondering what the heck he was doing.

He leaned down close to my head and whispered in my ear: "Tell you what - if my shirt comes off, yours comes off too. But that's the _only_ thing that comes off, okay?"

I swallow, my mouth suddenly dry for some reason. I'm not used to this position, I never imagined that this would happen… not so soon…! And, to be completely honest, I always thought it would be the other way around…

I stop thinking as he starts kissing my neck. They start out soft, but soon they get more aggressive, and when he gets to a certain spot on my shoulder I let out a _very_ quiet moan. But he still hears it since we're so close and he focuses on that one spot, biting it now. I let out a louder moan, and I vaguely remember from things that I've read that this is the part where the person usually says "Stop." But I'm just wondering… why would anyone want this feeling to stop? It makes me wriggle and shiver with pleasure, it makes me happy, seriously, what is with the people who say, "Stop"?

Soon he's done with my neck and he just looks into my eyes. His violet eyes are burning with excitement, he smiles at me. "You seemed to like that… I kinda want to know what it's like…"

I smirk, push myself up, and look at him. I bring my face in close again. "Really?" I ask, "Let me help you with that…"

* * *

After we're done making out, we ended up on the bed - fully clothed. Marik still has his promise, and honestly, I'm just content with the way things are right now… We're laying side by side, holding hands. I'm gently rubbing my thumb over the back of his hand and looking at the ceiling, and he's turned slightly towards me, his eyes closed like he's sleeping. But I can hear his heart beat just a little faster than normally, so I know he's still awake.

His eyes open, I turn to him. We smile at each other, and I steal a small peck on his lips. His smile turns into a smirk and he says. "You know, none of this would've happened if Melvin and Ryou hadn't locked us in here…"

I raise an eyebrow at him. "No way in hell am I _thanking_ them."

"But 'Kura… they're going to torment us for the rest of our lives about this… So I was thinking," his eyes lit up with mischief, "how about we pretend like nothing happened? Like we're still only best friends?"

I sit up and he sits up too. I turn my body towards him and cross my legs pretzel style, he just folds his legs behind him. I stare at him until my face slowly grows into a smirk. "Marik," I say, "have I told you how much I love you?"

He smiled. "Yes, yes you have."

I laughed. "Good, 'cause I like that plan… but how are we going to do it? What should we say happened then?"

Marik put his thinking face on, which unfortunately made me want to kiss him again, because his thinking face including sticking his bottom lip out slightly more than his top. He smiles again. "We could just say we argued a lot and sat in separate parts of the room," he suggests.

"Hmm…" I say, thinking it over, "Well… I suppose that could work… it's not like we haven't done that before."

"In a restaurant."

"With our friends watching."

"And all the staff looking at us like we're crazy."

"Yeah, this plan will work," I say with a laugh.

"Totally," Marik laughs with me.

We stare into each others eyes, and then I decide to ask, "So, you _do_ plan on getting married huh?"

He blushes. "I don't know…"

I smirk, and then stand up. I gesture for him to stand up too, and he does so hesitantly, not knowing what I'm up to. We stand in front of each other, looking into the other's eyes, smiling, happy that we're _finally_ where we want to be. I go down on one knee, and he just looks at me with wide eyes like I'm crazy. I look up at him and laugh. "Marik Ishtar," I say, watching with complete and utter joy as his face flames up - I swear I can see the heat lines. "I love you, with all my heart I love you. I want to spend every single day of my life with you, I want to laugh and joke and argue and fight with you, but more importantly," I smile, my ego impossibly high right now as Marik isn't even _blinking_ he's so shocked, or maybe he just doesn't want to miss this, "I want to make you happy…

"Though I don't have a ring regrettably," I say as I take his right hand in mine, "I would be honored if you would marry me," I kiss his ring finger, "could that do until we go ring shopping?" he doesn't answer me, he's speechless. I chuckle. "Don't answer that, my _real_ question is, will you marry me?"

* * *

_**Marik**_

HOLY CRAP! DID BAKURA JUST _PROPOSE? ! ? !_ I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! ! !

I bite my lip as every fiber of my body screams, "_**YES! ! !**_ A MILLION TIMES YES! ! !" After all, I don't want to give in that easy do I?

I decide to make it seem like I don't know if this is a good idea or not (even though I know it's a _perfect_ idea!) and I say, "B-but 'Kura… We haven't even gone on a date yet!"

He laughs. "Marik, let's face it," he says, "we've been going on dates for the past three years, we just wouldn't admit it."

"But…" I still mock-hesitate, though to him it seems like I'm _actually_ hesitating, and I can tell because his face looks really, really, _really_ nervous, even if he tried to cover it up with impatience and annoyance. He's probably wondering if I'll _actually_ refuse, like that's ever going to happen! "… What about my dad…?" I say, managing to bring back some of the fear I had into my words.

"We can take care of him together, now hurry up and give me a freaking answer Marik!"

I smile happily - _together_, the word rings in my ears. I jump down and capture him in a hug. "YES! Of course I'll marry you 'Kura! !"

He wraps his arms around me. "Damn it Marik! You had me worried there…!" he tells me angrily.

I release my hug enough so that I can look into his eyes. I have a _very_ mischievous smile on my face as I say, "Like I could ever resist? It took every fiber of my being not to scream yes at you as soon as you asked."

He smiles. "Good!" he kisses me, a happy, chaste kiss, but it's so perfect for this moment… We separate and grin at each other, and then we hear mad pounding up the stairs. We both turn towards the sound and then jump away from each other. "We're following the plan?" Bakura whispers at me.

"Definitely!" I whisper back.

We go to opposite sides of the room and act like we're mad, but it turns out we probably could have just looked like we were talking normally because Ryou burst in here like a five-year-old hopped up on sugar. He had the biggest smile I'd ever seen on his face, and it almost looked like he was going to explode from excitement… "Bakura!" he called, rushing over to his brother, "You'll never guessed what happened!"

"You finally dumped Melvin?" Bakura asked hopefully. I laugh silently - not a chance 'Kura!

Ryou giggles. That's odd, usually he's roll his eyes and hit Bakura and then tell him the real news… "He proposed!" Ryou said, throwing his hands up in the air dramatically.

Both of our jaws drop. "_**WHAT? !**_" we both scream.

Ryou giggled again. "I know! I was so surprised when he got down on one knee~! But it's true!" he held up his right hand. Sure enough, there was a plain, silver band around his ring finger. He jumped up and down. "I can't believe it~! I never thought he'd actually be able to! I'd thought _I'd_ have to do it!"

I stare at Ryou some more, and then I look at Bakura. He's looking down, shaking slightly. Then he looks up, his face contorted with rage - I even see fire smoldering in his eyes. He runs out of the room and down the stairs, as soon as he reaches the bottom step I hear a loud crashing sound accompanied with, "YOU PROPOSED? ! ? !"

I'm too shocked to listen anymore, I stare at Ryou. "M… Melvin really proposed…?" I asked disbelievingly.

Ryou beamed at me. "I know right! Well it makes sense, we _have_ been dating for a long time… but I never thought he'd actually do it!" he was bursting with enthusiasm and happiness, it made me smile. This is a pretty funny coincidence if you think about it…

Just then, Ryou stares at me oddly, and then he smiles knowingly. "What's that on your neck…?" he asks.

My eyes widen and my hand flies up to my soft spot where Bakura had bitten me earlier. Don't tell me I have a… a hickey!

Ryou giggles again. "So~! What happened while we were gone?"

I flush - there's no way Ryou's going to believe nothing happened. Just as I'm about to tell Ryou the truth, a bad thought comes to me.

_Bakura probably has a hickey too!_

* * *

_**Bakura**_

"YOU PROPOSED? ! ? !" I yell angrily at Melvin as I accidentally tip over a lamp in my hurry to get to him.

He blinks at me before beaming. "Yup!"

I blink at him, then I punch him in the stomach. He covers up that area and groans. "Hey!" he asks me, just as angry as me, "Why'd you do that?"

"I never thought you'd actually… I'd always hoped it wouldn't last!" is all I say.

Melvin chuckles, then he puts his hands on my shoulders. "Bakura, I love your brother, I promise you that no harm will come to him, okay? And _if_, by some off chance, that Ryou comes to you crying I give you full permission to kill me with any weapon of your choice."

I look at him and raise an eyebrow. "_Any_ weapon…?" I ask.

He laughs. "Yes, any weapon. So will you come to the wedding?"

I snort. "Of course I'm going! My brother's getting married, you'd have to be a real asshole to miss your brother's wedding, even if it's to someone you don't like."

Melvin chuckled. "So nice to have your permission 'Kura…"

"Don't call me that."

"If I was Marik I could call you that," he taunts me.

I roll my eyes. "That's _Marik_, you're _Melvin_. Know your place."

Melvin opens his mouth to say something when suddenly he looks at my neck strangely. Don't tell me he's gone all vampire on me now… He smirks bigger than I've ever seen him do before and he points at my neck. "What's that?" he asks knowingly.

I try and look, and I just faintly see the edge of a bruise.

My face enflames. _No_… I think, _it can't be a…!_

"That's a hickey! Isn't it?" Melvin asks.

I reach my hand up to cover it. "No! Something just fell on me…"

Melvin laughed. "I'm sure! You know, I always thought it would be my brother who would get the hickey, not you…"

"To be fair, I'm pretty sure he has one too…" I say, figuring this can't _possibly_ get any worse for me.

I'm proven wrong when Ryou comes bounding down the stairs saying, "BAKURA PROPOSED TOO! !"

Melvin's eyes widen and he looks at me. I just avoid both of their gazes, and instead I find Marik's on the top of the stairs.

"_We're screwed,"_ his sad eyes say, _"aren't we?"_

"_Big time,"_ I answer back with my eyes.

* * *

**_MUA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAA! XDD Well! I hope you guys liked this last chapter! Tell me your favorite part, 'kay? ;) Tell me if you think I should change anything… for the longest time I debated whether or not to do it from Bakura's point of view and then Marik's in the next chapter like last time, but I'm happy I went this route… ^^ Tell me if you think the POV changes were too fast though… I might try and fix it, I'm not gonna lie, it's not really my top priority… Tell me if there's anything wrong, etc. etc. etc…_**

**_I COULD end this story right here… HOWEVER! If you guys want another chapter, then review and give me some ideas! If I like the idea, I'll write it! ;) I could write Ryou and Melvin's date or something… Give me ideas people! XD_**

~~~{REVIEW REPLIES}~~~

**hikaru2322**: Haha, sorry you didn't get this chapter until now XD Did you like this one? :3


	4. Confrontation

SO! Here I am with another chapter! =D Yay~! I really like this one… XDD

WARNING: Everyone's out of character, at one point or another… XDDD

Also, I have two things to say:

1: DON'T JUDGE ME. (You'll see why I say that later… XDD I'm so bad)

2: I love blood and vampires… so don't kill me, thanks! =)

* * *

Marik fiddled with the golden ring on his left finger and bit his lip absently while staring up at a building. Nervous sweat was trickling down his forehead and back – he couldn't believe that they were actually doing this today…

He turned to his left, where Bakura was. The white-haired boy smiled at him and said, "Are you ready?"

Marik swallowed. "Are you sure you want to do this today…?" he asked, stalling.

Bakura chuckled. "Of course," he responded, "I'm the one who wanted to do it today, remember?"

"Yeah… but…"

Bakura put his arm around Marik's shoulders in an attempt to calm him. "You'll do fine," he assured, "just tell your dad that you're getting married… to a boy."

Marik shoved Bakura's arm off of him. "Yes, 'cause that'll go over _so_ well."

Bakura laughed before saying, "So I was thinking about the wedding –"

Marik groaned. Bakura always wanted to talk about the blasted wedding, "What food should we eat?" "Should we wear black tuxedos or white ones? Or should one wear black and the other white?" "Who should we invite?" "Where do you want it to be held?" It was seriously starting to piss Marik off since he didn't want a big, fancy wedding… He was surprised Bakura wanted one though. "_Why_ do you want a big wedding again?" Marik asked for about the millionth time since the proposal.

"You only get married once right?" Bakura replied before smirking, "Plus, I want a chance to embarrass the living hell out of you."

Marik stuck his tongue out at his fiancé, realizing for the hundredth time that he really _loved_ that word: fiancé. "So what have you been thinking about the wedding for _this_ time?" Marik asked irritably.

"Well," Bakura began, obviously getting ready to explain a lot of things, "the main issue I see is the food… I mean, you're a vegetarian and I am most _definitely_ a carnivore, so that's a big issue. So, I was thinking we should get steak and fish."

"Isn't getting both expensive?" Marik asked. That's what he's always heard anyways, thanks to TV shows and whatnot.

"It doesn't have to be _expensive_ food, it really just depends on the seasoning anyways, and Ryou could probably get his restaurant to cater for us now that I think about it…"

Marik's eyes widened. "Why didn't we think of that sooner? Ryou was probably already planning to make his own food for his wedding…"

"There's one problem…" Bakura said, his face taking on an almost depressed look to it, "I'm not sure if that restaurant is homophobic or not…"

"… Damn it… Let's go ask him right now," Marik said, seeing the perfect opportunity to get away from the house they had been standing in front of.

His escape was ruined when Bakura put his hand on his shoulder and stopped him. "Oh no," he said, glaring, "you are telling your dad _today_ that you're gay and getting married to me. Do you have any idea how it makes me feel to know that my fiancé doesn't even want to tell his own father that he's getting married?"

Marik stared at him with an un-amused expression on his face. "Bakura," he said, "it doesn't make you feel anything…"

"While that's true, you still need to confront your father! Now go."

"WAIT!" both boys heard someone else call. They turned to see Melvin bounding toward them with a wicked smile on his face. "Is today the day?" he asked excitedly, "Is today the day we get to beat the living hell out of dad and possibly kill him?"

* * *

**Melvin**

I stared at them both with a wicked grin on my face. Finally! I get to see my little bro stand up to dad! I'm so proud of him right now… I'm so proud, in fact, that I trap him in a headlock and start ruffling his hair. "I didn't think you'd ever have the guts to Rika-chan~!"

Bakura started to laugh as Marik escaped my headlock and glared at me with a light, pink blush in his cheeks. "R-Rika-chan?-!" Bakura questioned between laughter, "Wh-why didn't _I_ think of that?-!"

Marik glared at him. "I _swear_ if you call me that I will –"

Bakura just kissed Marik to shut him up, and I almost felt like cheering him on. I was all for Rika and 'Kura getting together ever since Ryou told me about him. Honestly, my first thought when I met him? "He would be _perfect_ for Marik!"

I have to cover my mouth to silence my laughter when I see that Marik's kissing him back. I also have to stop myself from saying: "Get a room!" but after a few minutes I break them apart and say, "Weren't we here to do something _besides_ make out? I feel a little left out you know…"

Bakura just glared at me, probably pissed off that I interrupted his make-out session with his soon-to-be-husband. Marik's face was really red though, and I wish I had a camera so I could remember that forever. It was almost as cute as Ryou-chan's blushing face~! "Why are you here anyway?" Bakura asked irritably. He still doesn't like me that much… though I have no idea why. I mean, just because I was insane and wanted to see the world burn in beautiful, enchanting, red flames is no excuse to hate me… especially since I'm getting married to his brother for crying out loud!

"I'm here to help my little brother beat up the bastard!" I exclaimed to him.

Bakura rolled his eyes. "We don't need you, we can take care of this ourselves."

"But I want to see dad put in his place!" I said angrily, "I want to see him groveling on the floor, begging for mercy, feeling the pain that he's inflicted on us for so long," my face turns into a hideous grin as I see the familiar sight of flames in my peripheral vision. "I want to see him burn…" I said, my voice low and serious, "I want to see the flames lick at him, I want him to pay for his sins in a fiery inferno –"

The flames disappear from my peripheral vision as I feel someone slap me. I put my hand up to my face and crease my eyebrows at my brother and his partner. It was obvious Bakura was the one that slapped me – Marik was used to me zoning out to "psycho-land" as Ryou liked to call it, and knew that the only time he should snap me out of it was when I started getting violent or started searching for a weapon. Whereas Bakura had this mixed look of anger and a touch of fear on his face. "Shut the hell _up_ Melvin! And to think I'm letting someone who wants to kill everyone live with my brother…!"

"Speaking of which," Marik asked, "where is Ryou? I thought you and him were spending all week together?"

I smiled. That _was_ true, we had wanted to spend some alone time together without any distractions. Mostly to plan the wedding, but also for… something else. And no, it's not what you're thinking. Ryou wants to wait till he thinks our relationship can "handle it." Ironic, don't you think, that he says we should be ready on our honeymoon? And let me tell you that it is getting harder and harder these days to listen to him, especially since he's quite the… performer… I'm not explaining more than that. I wonder what Bakura would say if he knew Ryou wasn't quite as sweet and innocent as everyone has him pegged for… everyone except me that is. "Well you see," I began, "we were planning the wedding and he had to step out for a while, so I was thinking about decorations and stuff you know? And when he came back he told me I couldn't help plan the wedding anymore because _apparently_ us entering under arches of fire wasn't a good idea…"

Bakura put his hand up to cover his face. "Why oh why oh _why_ does my brother love someone like you? Why can't he love someone more like… like…"

"Marik?" I finished for him, "Because you'd hate that."

Bakura glared. "I'd rather he be single!"

I held my hands up to where my heart was and pretended like that comment hurt. "Oh! So you'd rather your brother be miserable and alone than happy and with someone?"

"If that someone is you – yes."

"Guys!" Marik broke in, "Enough of this stupid –"

"Melvin!" I hear my angel's voice call out from behind me. A huge smile comes onto my face and I turn around, almost having to stop myself from getting a nosebleed in the next second. Ryou was wearing this really, _really_ tight, blue, muscle-shirt that had straps instead of sleeves and a low neck… not to mention _short, _white shorts.

"R-Ryou…" I said, surprised that he was walking around like that. Of course, when I stopped paying attention to what he was wearing (which was freaking difficult I tell you…) I realized that he was jogging, so his clothing choice wasn't actually that weird.

He smiled and put his hands out in front of him, obviously getting ready to hug me. I smiled and held out my arms just as he ran and jumped into my arms. We held each other close, and then he wrapped his legs around my waist to support him while he kissed me and wrapped his arms around my neck.

I have no idea what caused Ryou to show such a public display, but do you think I really care?

Sadly, he kept the kiss chaste and then got down before smiling like nothing happened at his brother and Marik. "Hello Bakura! Marik! What are you doing here?"

I had to resist the urge to burst out laughing yet again as I saw 'Kura's eye twitching angrily. Damn, he _really_ doesn't like me! "Ryou," he said, his voice getting into that overprotective tone I seem to always hear when me and Ryou are together, "what are you wearing…?"

Ryou looked at his brother with a questioning look on his face. "What do you mean? I'm wearing jogging clothes…" he said, trying to think of what his brother was hinting at.

Bakura sighed. "Never mind… Hey, do you think your restaurant would be able to cater for our wedding?"

"Oh yeah! I was gonna talk to you about that!" Ryou said excitedly, "I've been thinking, we could have a double wedding!"

Everyone was silent, including me.

"A… double wedding?" Marik asked like he'd never heard the concept before.

"Yeah!" Ryou said, his face adorable… damn I fell hard, didn't I? "Think about it, both of the proposals were on the same day, so wouldn't it make sense to have the weddings on the same day as well?"

"Yeah but…" Bakura said, "… I wanted to be your best man…"

Ryou giggled. That's right, giggled… do I even need to _explain_ how cute that is?-! I freaking love my little Ryou-chan~! "Aw, 'Kura, you're already my best man."

I growl possessively as I snake one arm around his slim waist and press him against me. "Hey, I thought _I_ was your man."

Ryou rolled his eyes before leaning his head back and kissing my lower jaw bone. "You're my _man_, Bakura's my _best_ man."

I smiled at Ryou sweetly, but couldn't help but smirk when I saw Bakura glaring at us. Geez, if he wasn't getting married to my brother I'd probably call him a homophobe right now, 'cause that's _exactly_ what he looked like!

"So what are you doing here?" Ryou asked again, making no moves to escape from my hold. In fact, he actually snuggled in closer, but did it in a way so that Bakura wouldn't notice. He knew that Bakura didn't like me that much, and especially not when we were together, but he still tried to make us get along, and he usually tried to cut down on the physical contact around him too, but he must not care today for some reason…

"We're talking to my dad today," Marik explained sourly.

I could feel Ryou tense up, and I tightened my hold comfortingly around him. "Really…" he said, "well, good luck with that…"

Bakura raised an eyebrow at him. "What's wrong Ryou?" he asked. Damn it, stupid twin connection! Bakura knew something was up.

Ryou tilted his head back to look at me, so I looked down at him, and was it _really_ my fault that his shirt hung so loosely that I could see his perfect chest clearly? No, of course it's not my fault… it's the stupid shirt's fault… God bless shirt companies. Anyways, his face had a worried look on it, and I could tell he was asking me, "Should we tell them?" even without speaking. I shrugged in response, and he sighed, deciding to get out of our embrace then. He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly before saying, "Me and Melvin visited Mr. Ishtar one day…"

Both Marik and Bakura's eyes widened at the same time. "WHAT?-!" they both exclaimed.

"Why didn't you tell me?-!" Bakura demanded to know.

"Did he do anything?" Marik wanted to know, "What happened?-!"

Ryou sighed. He looked at me again, and I offered a weak smile and another shrug. Honestly, it was up to him whether or not he told them what happened.

I remembered that day oh so well… though my memory might be horrible for almost everything else.

_Ryou and I were walking down the street to my dad's house. He had been insisting for a long time now that we should go see him. After all, we had been dating for over a year now and his whole family knew about us, so he wanted my whole family to know too. _

"_Ryou," I try to warn him yet again, "we don't have to do this –"_

"_Of course we do!" Ryou almost yelled at me, "How sad is it that your father doesn't know what his son's up to?"_

_I stopped walking, and he stopped too to look back at me. "He doesn't consider me his son," I said, my voice serious, but other than that there was no emotion in my words. _

_Ryou actually shivered, just a little bit, from my cold tone. "Well, he said that so long ago, I'm sure he misses you! And I'm sure he'll be happy to hear his son's happy."_

"_Ryou," I said, this time my voice pleading, "you don't understand my dad…" The truth was, I just _don't_ want Ryou to meet dad… I just _know_ something bad's gonna happen… I just know it. _

_Ryou sighed and hugged me. "It'll be fine, what's the worst he can do?"_

"_Kill us both," I said coldly._

_Ryou waved that thought away with his hand. "Oh I'm sure he's not that bad, you do tend to exaggerate Vinny."_

_I smiled at the nick-name Ryou called me. He also called me "Melvy" and "Mel" sometimes, but Vinny was his favorite. Though he _did_ like to switch off a lot too… I just feel so happy every time he calls me one of those. But my smile was gone in the next second with the thought of seeing my dad for the first time in over ten years. "Ryou, he hurt us. He caused us to bleed before," I brought my head down so that he couldn't see my face, "I don't want that to happen to you…"_

_Ryou brought my chin up and kissed me on the lips. He gently licked my bottom lip before pulling back and saying, "That's in the past Mel… I'm sure he's gotten much better," he stroked my cheek, "just like you…"_

_I grabbed his hand and brought it to my lips for a gentle kiss, then I put his hand on my heart. "Ryou," I said, my voice getting serious again, "I've told you before, but you don't seem to listen… even though it may seem like I've gotten better, I could go back to how I was at anytime, and when that happens I need you to just get away from me – don't try to calm me down, okay Ryou? And I know you'll try to, so I need you to promise me that you won't try to get me back to normal."_

"_But –"_

"_Because I was really messed up Ryou," I said. I saw his voice go into that half-pouting, half-uncomfortable look he always got when we talked about how insane I was. "You know that… you remember –"_

_He kissed me roughly there to shut me up. When he separated he said, "It's okay! You weren't in your right mind then, you need to stop beating yourself up about that already."_

"_But…" I started. I closed my eyes, remembering the one and only time when Ryou looked at me with fear on his face… true, undiluted fear, the kind of fear I was used to seeing on my old victims… not my boyfriend, not my snowflake, not my little Ry-ry… _

_But you know, that's the look he _should_ have around me._

_I'm not really meant to be with anyone… I'm mentally insane, I've been that way ever since I can remember… I'm unstable, I'm violent, and I'm just… psychotic. When I was younger, I'd set fire to trees and other small things to entertain myself… I found flames to just be so, _beautiful._ The graceful way they lapped at everything; the crisp, crackling noise it made; the beautiful, bright sparks; and the proud sight of destruction. Fire is so powerful, it can take down an entire building and kill hundreds, yet it can also be so fragile, and the smallest wind or water droplet could knock it out… _

_I much preferred the powerful side of fire. _

_And that's what had scared Ryou… _

_I can still hear his voice, calling desperately, trying to reach the real me, trying to get me back to normal. "M-Melvin…" his quiet, pitiful voice had said, "M-Melvin… please, snap out of it…"But what was even worse than his poor, weak voice leaving a permanent scar in my brain, what was worse than hearing that small voice echo around in my head and tormenting me in the middle of the night, what was worse than that was the memory that, in my psychotic delusions, I had actually… _enjoyed_ the look of pure terror on my precious little kitten's face… I had enjoyed how much he feared me, I had enjoyed how pathetic his voice had sounded, I had enjoyed the fact that he was completely at my mercy… the only thing that snapped me out of it was the single teardrop that fell from his wide, sparkling eyes and landed on my hand._

_Like I said, even a small droplet of water can extinguish a flame…_

_That had put a damper on our relationship. He couldn't look me in the eye after that, and when he ran out of the room… I hauled myself there. I didn't leave, I didn't eat, I didn't sleep, I didn't do anything for a whole week. I just lay in my room, hating myself for what I had done to Ryou. I had been sure that he hated me, that he'd never want to see me again, I had been sure that the best thing that had ever happened to me had just walked out of my life forever, leaving me lifeless once more… leaving the psychosis to stretch over every part of me and leave me hollow, a hollowness that, in my insanity, I felt only destruction and death could fill. Leaving me to go mad, even madder than I had been before…_

_But I think Ryou might be masochistic or something, because he came back to me after a week. He hugged me, told me that he forgave me, told me that we could start over… or just forget about it. _

_I felt overjoyed when he said he forgave me. I think that was the only time I cried… _

_But I knew I didn't deserve that. I had almost… almost… hurt Ryou, maybe even worse than that… I told him that he'd be better off without me, that he should find someone better for him…_

_But he wouldn't listen. He kept shaking his head and said, "I don't care what your mental problems are, all that matters is that you're Melvin Ishtar and I love you. I'll help you through it, that's what boyfriends are for anyways, right?"_

_I didn't understand why he loved me so much… I _still_ don't understand it! I've probably caused this little angel so much fear and pain over the years, and yet he forgives me and tries to help me… And he _has_ helped me a lot, I'm much better now than I was when we first met, but I still have these spasms where I remember what controlling the flames was like, where I remember how good it made me feel after destroying something, anything… _

_I imagine that's how my father felt every time he hurt one of his children._

"_Ryou…" I had told him, snapping myself out of my horrible memories, "I'm sorry…"_

"_Stop apologizing!" Ryou complained, "That's my job."_

_I laughed. He _did_ say sorry an awful lot… sometimes even when it was clearly my fault. He says he 'caused me to act that way' or something… I think he just wanted to make me feel better. _

_He hugged me again and said, "I want to meet your dad, at least once, to see what he's like for myself?"_

_I held him closely to me, protectively. "I can tell you all about what he's like Ryou, you don't need to see him."_

"_But I want to! Come on, you didn't want to meet my parents either and they _loved_ you!"_

"_That was because you didn't tell them about my mental issues."_

"_That's because they're becoming less of an issue every day. Now come on! We're meeting your dad and that's final."_

_I sighed. When Ryou made up his mind, there was no changing it… he was just as stubborn as his brother, if not _more_ so. And though I find that a very attractive trait, I also find it annoying and inconvenient sometimes, like now. _

_We kept walking and eventually made it to my dad's house. I stared at the horrid, white building with loathe clear on my face. It looked like most of the shingles needed to be replaced, and the house _desperately_ needed some new paint… I bet the inside was just as shoddy and disgusting. _

_Ryou turned and smiled at me. "Everything will be fine. Come on, let's go see him now."_

_At the time I just nodded, but looking back I wish Ryou would stop making promises he can't keep._

_We walked up to the door and I demanded I stand in front of Ryou when the door opens. So it was with Ryou behind me that I knocked on the door, wishing that my dad was out right now. _

_Sadly, that was not the case._

_My dad opened the door. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair was unkempt, and he was paler and sicker than I last remember him being. He took one look at me and scowled. "What do you want ya ungrateful little bastard."_

_I glared at him and grinded my teeth. "Nice to see you too dad," I said sarcastically through my teeth, my voice taking on the tone that indicated I was slipping back into "psycho-land."Ryou put his hand on my shoulder at that time to try and calm me. _

_Unfortunately, that was when my dad saw him. "Who the hell is that?" he asked._

_I brought Ryou to my side and put my arm around his shoulders. "This is my _boyfriend_."_

_Dad stared at me, his eyes cold. He snarled at me, "How dare you bring that to my house. And you are _not_ my son anymore, remember?"_

_I snuck a quick glance at Ryou. His expression was sad, and his eyebrows were scrunched, which meant he didn't understand why my dad was acting like this. I looked back at my dad and said, " "That" has a name, and _his_ name is Ryou. He wanted to see you, you should feel honored."_

_My dad pushed me, causing me and Ryou to take a step backwards since I was hanging onto him. "I'd feel honored if that thing was a girl! Get out of my sight, you disgust me."_

_I glared at him, and I could feel fire appear at my peripheral vision again. I surrendered my hold on Ryou as I rushed forward and pushed my dad. I kept pushing him until his back came against the wall inside his disgusting house. The place was filthy, probably never cleaned it since Marik left. I put my hands to his throat and started choking him, my face turning to a wild grin as I realized that I was stronger than him, and that this was so easy… it'd be so easy to just kill him right now. No more trouble, no more pain, just relief… "Don't you _ever_ call him a 'thing' again. He's brought me more happiness than you ever did or ever _will_. He disgusts you? I'm sure you disgust him."_

_But then Ryou came up and wrapped his arms around my waist and tried to pull me back. "Melvin!" he said, his voice in a panic. This was probably _not_ how he had expected this to go. "Stop! Killing is not the answer!"_

_I turned to him, the fire not yet gone from my eyes. "But Ryou," I said, my voice psychotic as I tightened my grip on the bastard's neck, "you've seen him, you've seen how horrible he is, surely I would be doing the world a favor by killing him?"_

_Ryou stepped back and shook his head, tears brimming his eyes. "It's not our place to decide who should die or not. What if someone decided they'd be doing the world a favor by killing _you?_ I wouldn't… I couldn't handle that Vinny, so please… stop…" he looked down, and a single tear fell from his eye, vanquishing the flames from me, just like last time. _

_I released my hold on the bastard, watching with delight as he crumpled to the floor and started gasping for breath. _

_But then something horrible happened._

_Ryou, being the wonderful, caring, forgiving person that he was, kneeled down next to my father and asked, "I'm sorry for Melvin, are you okay?"_

_My dad glared at Ryou, scaring him just a little, and then pushed him onto his back. "Get the hell away from me you faggot!"_

_His words were like gasoline to my flames, and I could see the red returning. Then he punched Ryou in the chest, _hard_, and the sickening, deafening scream that came out of my angel's mouth was like the spark that started a roaring, uncontrollable fire. _

_I grabbed that _bastard's_ collar and picked him up, giving him the coldest stare that I could. "Listen _dad_," I said, my voice hard, unforgiving, merciless, "while we _might_ be "faggots," at least we're happy. And you know something? Ryou's a better person than you'll _ever_ be. I don't know a single person who would ask if you were okay after the way you've been acting." I slammed him against the wall, brightening at the sight of his pathetic figure crumpling in a heap on the floor. "You're worthless, pathetic, weak, you talk all tough but that's 'cause that's all you have. You're mean because you don't know any other way, you've _never_ known another way since mom died…_

"_But guess what? Ryou's mother and sister both died in a car crash, and he's probably the nicest person I've ever met. So you know what? I don't care if you don't like us. For the first time in my life I'm happy, _truly_ happy. Not that fake happy that I was when I caused destruction… And I'm not going to let you ruin that." I turned to Ryou who had sat up and said, "Let's go Ryou." He just nodded, cradling his stomach, and stood up. We started walking out of there, and I couldn't have been more eager. _

_Unfortunately, my eagerness cost me._

_I turned around as I heard a sharp yell come from behind me. My eyes widened as I saw my dad holding Ryou in a headlock, a dull, Swiss army knife held to his throat. _

_The sight froze me. No… don't hurt Ryou, don't hurt him…! I felt panic and fear grip my heart as I thought of a world without my little ray of sunshine there to brighten my day. I felt anger as I continued to look at my horrible excuse for a father. But I knew that if I moved that Ryou would be gone from my life forever… so I stayed still._

"I'm_ weak?" the bastard yelled, "look at your little _boyfriend_. __**He's**__ weak! He won't even put up a fight! I'm disappointed Melvin, I thought you'd get someone more brave, someone stronger." He pressed the knife closer to Ryou's neck, and I saw red liquid leak from his dainty neck…_

_In the next second, somehow I had pinned my dad to the floor and held the knife pressed to _his_ neck. "How _dare_ you…" I said, my voice the most dangerous I've ever heard it. The flames weren't in my peripheral vision anymore, they threatened to take over my entire eyesight. I felt furious, angrier than I had ever felt before, I was so mad that I couldn't even finish my sentence. How dare he hurt my Ryou-chan! How dare he! I pressed the knife closer to my dad's neck, and I felt elated at the sight of the same red liquid trickling down his neck and onto the floor._

_But it wasn't enough. Not for what he did to Ryou._

_I brought the knife up above my head, getting ready to strike and cease my dad's life forever, but then my little angel stopped me. _

_He grabbed my arm, screaming, "NO!" _

_I looked up at him, utterly confused. My dad hurt him, doesn't he want to see him pay? Doesn't he want this as much as I do? "Ryou…" I said, my vision getting just a little more clear as I stared at him, "He hurt you…"_

"_What, this?" Ryou asked as he wiped the blood from his neck like it was nothing, "It's no big deal, it doesn't even hurt much. It's nothing to kill over."_

"_But," I started, but Ryou silenced my by putting both of his hands on my shoulders. _

"_Let's just go, okay sweetie?" he said softly. _

_I stared at him, the flames slowly disappearing from my vision, but just before they disappeared they enflamed again as I said, "I don't care if it doesn't hurt you much Ryou, it hurts _me_ a _lot _to see you with any sort of pain! It hurts me to see what my father did to you, this is exactly why I didn't want to come!"_

"_It's really no big deal Melvin –"_

"_Bull shit!" I yelled, turning back to my dad. He looked so pathetic right now, his eyes looking at the knife in my hand with fear. "He deserves to die!" I yelled, my grip on the knife increasing as I brought it even further back, getting ready to plunge it deep into my father's chest._

_I hear the knife clatter to the floor as I feel Ryou's soft lips press against mine. "Stop," he murmurs in between the kiss, "this isn't you… this isn't the you I know."_

_I push him back slightly and look him in the eyes. "Yes it is Ryou, you know this me very well… This _is_ me Ryou, it's a part of me, whether you admit it or not."_

_I saw tears brim his eyes again. "You're better than this Melvin!" he whispered, his lips provocatively close to mine, "You're stronger than this. I know you, and this isn't you… at least, not anymore." He kissed me again, and this time he bit my bottom lip, just like he knows I like, but then he pulled back and looked at me with those round, sad, doe-eyes of his. "Please… let's just go, I'm sorry I made us come."_

_I stood up and hugged him. "Don't be sorry… I'm the one that should be sorry, I didn't protect you enough… and now you know how awful he is." I glared at my father one last time, who was just staring at us with shock on his face. I scoffed at him and turned, this time pushing Ryou in front of me so that there would be no surprise attacks. _

_When we got outside, Ryou smiled at me. "I'm proud of you Melvin…" _

_I raised an eyebrow at him, the flames disappearing rapidly form my vision. "Why? I almost killed him, like, five times. At _least_."_

"_Yes, but you didn't," he smiled at me again, and it was then that I noticed that the cut on his neck was still bleeding. _

_I stared at the crimson liquid, the flames still at my peripheral vision now. "Ryou…" I said, "Your neck is still bleeding."_

"_Is it?" he asked as he brought his fingers up to his neck and smeared some of the blood on them. He looked at his bloody fingers. "Huh, ah well – _**Melvin!**"_ he said the last word with his face going red as I started licking the blood from his neck gently with my tongue. "Melvin, what are you doing?-! Stop it!" he demanded._

_I moaned with pleasure. "But you're so _sweet_…" Of course that might just be because I'm insane, and I had loved the taste of blood before then… but still, it _was_ sweet. _

"_Vinny…" he said warningly, but by the use of my nickname I could tell he was enjoying this, if only slightly. "Y-you're not a vampire…"_

_I wiggled my eyebrows at him. "If you can be my kitty then I can be your vampire."_

_His face flushed as he remembered the time he dressed up as a cat for me. _

_What? I told you he was a performer._

_He looked away from me, his face still red. "Th-that was…"_

"_Wonderful," I whispered before licking the still-flowing blood from his neck. _

_He let out a pleasured whimper as I bit his neck softly. I felt a shiver go through me, looks like I got him in the mood…_

_He pushed me away before grabbing my arm and wrapping it around him. He started playing with my fingers before saying, "Well," in a provocative voice I knew well, "I suppose you do deserve a treat…"_

_I shivered again and smirked. "What kind of treat?"_

_He tilted his head back with a flirty smile. "Your favorite – chocolate."_

… _Did he just say chocolate?-! He _never_ wants to do that one! "Really?" I ask him, excited._

_He laughs. "Really," he responds before stepping out from my arm and walking ahead. He turns around and puts his hands behind his back and winks at me. "Come on, or don't you want your sweet?"_

_I walk forward as he walks backwards. "Where are we going?"_

"_Your house, I love your bed. It's much softer than mine."_

_I chuckled, and kept following him. I grabbed his arm and was going to pull him in for a kiss, but he put a finger to my mouth and said, "Save your appetite sweetie~. I _pro~omise_ it'll be worth it~!"_

_I smirked and brought my lips close to his anyway. "I love you Ryou," I told him._

"_I know Vinny, I love you too," he said before kissing my cheek and then running ahead. "Can't catch me!" he called back._

_I laughed and ran after him. I couldn't wait till my chocolate~!_

~!~!~!~

As I came out of my own recollection of meeting my father, Ryou had just finished telling his own tale. Leaving out everything after we left of course, Bakura would go ballistic if he found out about chocolate…

Speaking of which, both boys were staring at Ryou with their mouths agape. Bakura looked at me and said, "You know what Melvin? I agree with you, let's go kill that bastard of a father!"

"I second that motion," Marik agreed.

I smiled. Maybe 'Kura would finally warm up to me! "Great! Let's do it right now!"

Ryou grabbed my arm. "Melvin…" he said, "we've talked about this…"

"Aw come on Ryou," I said, "even your brother wants him dead!"

Ryou shook his head. "I don't care… but if you two are going to talk to him, I don't want to be here, so I'll see you later!" then he started jogging away, and I was torn between jogging after him or staying here and helping 'Kura and Marik beat up my dad…

After staring after Ryou for a few seconds I turned to the two new love-birds and asked a question that's been bugging me for a while, "So which one of you is the girl in this relationship?"

I almost burst into laughter at the twin expressions of shock on their faces. "Wh-what?" they both asked.

"Oh come on," I said, "for every homosexual relationship there's a "girl" and a "boy." Or we could use the terms "seme" or "uke" if you prefer."

They both looked at me like I was crazy, and it was then that I remembered that these two didn't watch anime so they'd have no idea what those two words meant… Damn it, I keep forgetting that most people don't watch anime. "In the yaoi – er, gay world, seme is a term for the person on top, and uke's the one on the bottom," I clarified.

I got to witness the wonderful scene of both their faces flushing bright red as they took in what I said. I laughed. "Don't tell me you two never thought of it!"

Bakura tried to glare at me, but the blush on his face made it less intimidating than he wanted it to be. "No," he said coldly, "we _haven't_."

"Yeah," Marik agreed, "we aren't going to degrade each other by assigning roles."

I smirked. "Really? 'Cause me and Ryou both agreed that I'm the seme and he's the uke," I chuckled at Bakura's overprotective face, "and he seems to enjoy his role… so I guess your guys' relationship just can't handle it."

Marik glared at me. "Melvin, we're not falling into one of your games, you _obviously_ just want to see us fight. The truth is we're _equal_."

"Yes," Bakura agreed, but I could tell by his face that he didn't feel quite _equal_.

I smirked evilly. "Really? You don't think you're better than the other?"

"Of course not!" they argued in unison.

I brought my hand to my mouth. "Really? Marik, why don't you ask Bakura what _he_ thinks?" I suggested nonchalantly.

Bakura gave me death glares and I just gave him a look that said, "Soon you'll be in the doghouse boy."

* * *

**Bakura**

I. Fucking. _Hate_. Melvin!

Okay, truth is, I _have_ been thinking about the "girl-boy" thing in our relationship, and I just… can't see myself as the "uke" as Melvin put it. But the thing is… I can't see Marik as the "uke" either. I've been meaning to ask him about it, but… it's kind of awkward, you know? Plus, he's already been worried enough about dealing with his father, so I didn't want to give him one more thing he has to think and worry about. And, even if I can't see either of us as the uke, I have to admit… I'd kind of think it's Marik… I mean, he wears _purple_ for god's sake! What man wears purple? And he's really soft…

Crap, now Marik's looking at me… I look back at him, and I can tell he's a little mad that I'm not saying anything.

" 'Kura," he starts, "who do you think is the… uke?" he asks me.

I swallow the saliva in my mouth. "Well," I said, trying to choose my words carefully, "you do look kind of… girlish…" I admitted.

He glared at me. "_I_ look girlish?" he said indignantly, "at least I don't have curves!"

I glare back at him. "What are you talking about? I do not have curves!"

"Oh really?" he challenges, running his hands up and down my sides, "Look at this! You've got the "hour-glass" figure every girl dreams of! You're so skinny I'm surprised you're not anorexic!"

I slap his hands away, my face a little red. "At least I don't wear make-up!"

"I've explained this to you a million times – it's not make-up, it's kohl!"

"And a lot of people wear it in Egypt blah-de-blah-blah-blah, you're not in Egypt anymore Marik! You're in America! And in America, that black stuff around your eyes is _eyeliner._"

I can tell he's furious now. Let's face it, the guy had always been a little sensitive about the way he looks… but he deserved it for bringing up my figure. Was it really my fault that my body just _happened_ to be shaped like an "hour-glass" as he put it? Stupid anatomy…

"Um, guys?" Melvin interrupted.

At this time we were head to head, so close that our foreheads were almost touching, so we both turned on him. "What?" we asked irritably.

He seemed shocked at how worked up we were. I hate you Melvin… I really, fucking, hate you right now. You're the one who caused this stupid fight you bastard! Don't you dare act surprised!

"Well, there's an easy way to tell which one is the seme and which one's the uke."

I looked at him oddly and Marik asked, "How?"

He smiled wickedly, and I immediately knew that what he was about to say would either cause him to be either extremely mad at him, or cause my face to go extremely red.

Sadly, it was both. He practically _purred_, "Go at it in bed."

You already know my actions, my face turned redder than a tomato farm and I glared at him with the fury of a thousand suns, but you don't know Marik's reaction. From what I saw, his face was extremely red too, and he was grinding his teeth with fury. "Melvin," he said, "you know my promise –"

Melvin waved his hand in the air. "Marik, I don't know if you realize this or not, but you're getting _married_. So you might want to get comfortable with the idea of sex."

* * *

**Marik**

My face immediately enflamed. I was completely comfortable with the idea of sex! I just… didn't necessarily… want to _focus_ on it. After all, the key to building a relationship isn't… _that_, it's communication isn't it? And I think that if there's one thing me and Bakura have down, it's communication… Sure, yelling at each other may not be the best form of it, but it's better than keeping everything to ourselves and letting it build isn't it?

Bakura raised an eyebrow at me, but I could tell he was a little worried. "… _Are_ you comfortable with the idea…?" he asked me quietly, almost as if he was afraid of being turned down, _again_.

"Of course!" I answered back indignantly, mad that he'd ask the question. Of course I guess it's natural considering everything I've put him through… I sigh, trying to calm down. "Look, can we please talk about this later? Somewhere more _private?_" I emphasized the last word as I glared at my brother. "And go chase after Ryou already! I know you want to…"

Melvin smiled. "All right, but if you want my two cents I think you two are equal too. Bye~!" he said before running off.

Me and Bakura stared at him, both seething and Bakura said one word. "Jackass."

"Right?" I agreed angrily, "If he thought we were equal why did he ask the question?"

Bakura stared at the ground contemplatively. Then he turned to me with no emotion on his face. "Marik, if you're not ready yet it's okay… I'd just like to know first, I don't want to force you or anything…" his eyes softened, "We can tell each other anything, right?"

I smiled, I never knew Bakura could be so… understanding, I suppose. And he says he's not patient? Liar. "Thanks 'Kura… but I'm ready. Er, I will be anyways…"

Bakura snickered, then he grabbed my left hand. "You already have the ring… doesn't that mean anything?"

I took my hand away from him. "We're not married yet _Fluffy."_

"But we're engaged," Bakura said with a smirk, "so you're _not_ ready…"

I glared at him. "I think I _know_ when I'm ready!"

"But if you're ready now, then why wait?"

"Because…" I hesitated. Well… we _are_ getting married… I do have a ring… but, I don't know… "It's just more… traditional, I guess."

Bakura thought about this, then shrugged. "Makes sense to me." I could tell he wanted to say more, so I waited. Eventually, he put his hands together and looked off to the side, "So I was thinking about the wedding…"

I groaned, much to his amusement.

He smirked. "And I've decided that I should wear white and you should wear black."

I raised an eyebrow at him, a smile playing at my lips. "Doesn't the _bride_ usually wear white…?" I asked.

A light pink blush appeared on his face, making him look so _cute~!_ "Well… yes," he admitted, his face going redder, "but, just think about it! White would clash with your skin-tone… and my hair's already white, so black would just make it stand out more…"

I chuckled. "And a white dress would accentuate your curves…"

He glared at me, his face just plain red now. He poked me in the ribs, "Look pal, I don't know what sick fantasies you think up, but I am _not_ wearing a freaking white dress!" I just kept laughing as he continued, "Actually, white represents purity, so maybe you _should_ wear white."

"But it would clash with my skin-tone!" I said with mock-fear.

Bakura scowled. "If you don't like the idea, just say so!" he said, but then he mumbled the last part, "And I thought you'd be happy that I'm willing to play the… 'bride' so to speak…"

I smiled at him, "I am, but I mean, you kind of proposed that completely out of the blue."

Bakura burst out laughing, leaving me to wonder what was so funny. "Marik," he said, calming himself down, "I _proposed_ completely out of the blue!"

It took me a few moments before I got it and then started laughing too.

Bakura put a hand to his chin, his signature smirk right above, "You know, considering _I'm_ the one who proposed, maybe you _are_ the girl in this relationship…"

I smacked him behind the head. "You already said you'd wear white, so I say we're _equal_."

Bakura rubbed the back of his head with a smile. "I agree." He looked at the house we had been standing in front of this entire time. "Anyways, we should really see your dad now…"

I sighed. "Right… lead the way?"

He smiled. "Sure." He walked towards the front door, expecting me to follow. But… fear kept holding me back. What if… what if my dad's drunk or something? He's a violent drunk… What if he thinks Bakura's Ryou, and tries to hurt him again as soon as he opens the door? What if…

I toppled out of my thoughts when I felt someone pulling my arm towards the door. "Stop standing around!" Bakura yelled at me with annoyance, "We've come too far for you to back out now!"

I glared at him. "I'm not 'backing out,' I'm just… hesitating."

Bakura rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he said before knocking on the door.

My heart thumped loudly in my ears. This is it… the moment of truth… My heart stopped when I heard sounds close to the door, and my vision swam as I saw the door open, but suddenly I was being hugged. "Marik!" I heard my dad's voice say happily, "I've missed you! Please, come inside!"

I backed out of his embrace, completely and utterly confused. One look at my dad and my jaw dropped. He was wearing jeans with a white, button-up shirt, and he looked very healthy and clean, unlike Ryou had said he looked the last time they saw him. His eyes didn't hold the familiar sight of alcohol in them like usual, and they actually looked… _happy!_

"D-dad…?" I asked, certain there must be a mistake – there's no way this person can be my father!

The man posing as my father chuckled. "You look so surprised… not that I can blame you I suppose," it was then that he noticed Bakura, and his face took on one of surprise, "Ah… you are Ryou, correct?"

"Um…" Bakura said. He must have been shocked by my father too, after all I'd told him… "Actually, I'm his twin brother… Bakura."

"Ah," dad said, "could you tell him I'm sorry about how I acted the last time we met? I feel really bad about that…"

"D-dad…" I interrupted, "What…?"

My father sighed, "I suppose we have a lot of catching up to do son…"

* * *

Soon, all three of us were inside my dad's house, drinking lemonade. Me and Bakura were sitting on the couch, and my dad was sitting in an easy-chair. The condition of the house astounded me – it looked like almost everything had been refurnished or replaced. The dirty white walls I remembered were now painted over with a soothing light yellow, and the rotting hardwood floor had been replaced with a red, plush carpet. The chairs and other furniture was yellow as well, and everything that was wood was cherry.

My dad was looking at us both curiously. "Are you two together?" he asked.

Bakura and I exchanged a glance. "… Yes…" Bakura said.

" We're… getting married," I finished.

My dad seemed to digest this, and his face turned to this expression that showed he was feeling very awkward and shocked at the moment… but then he smiled weakly. "Well… I hope you two will be very happy together." I couldn't believe m ears when he said that. Seriously, who is this person?-! The father I remembered would've gone ballistic at that statement!

"Dad," I said, "what… happened to you?"

He sighed. "When Melvin and Ryou came to visit me, I was shocked by how much Melvin had changed… he seemed much happier, much more sane, and I just… couldn't understand how this one _boy_ could change him, you know?

"It wouldn't leave me alone. I kept asking myself, "How is Melvin so happy with this boy?" Being the person I was back then couldn't understand it at all, and I kept thinking about the way Ryou looked at my son…" his eyes lost focus, "… he reminded me of your mother...

"I couldn't understand it… Back then, I felt that only a woman could bring a man such happiness that I had seen on Melvin's face, I thought only a woman could cure the loneliness in a man's heart, I couldn't understand it…

"After a while, I started thinking about you." My heart skipped a beat when he said that. "I kept thinking about how you never liked any of the girls I set you up with, and how you always seemed so nervous when I talked about children, and how you never visited… how _none_ of my children visited… and then, a realization hit me.

"I was a horrible father.

"When I realized that… I felt more distraught than ever, especially when I thought about how disappointed your mother would've been… How could I repay my children for all that I'd done? How could I possibly explain how sorry I am to them?

"I was determined to change my ways, to become someone better… someone more accepting. So I took some anger and alcohol management classes, and started to clean up my act, and my house. This place was a real mess a while ago…"

"H-how…" I started, "How long have you been taking these classes?"

"Oh, " he said, suddenly shy, "I'd say about a year or so…"

Me and Bakura exchanged glances, and I could tell we both had come to the same realization.

A year ago was when that night happened.

I felt… weird at that time, mad even. You mean to tell me that my dad was starting to become okay with the idea of having a gay son a year ago? I could've… I could've faced him back then! I could've skipped an entire year of drama and been with 'Kura a lot sooner!-! Damn it! Why didn't I just go see him that day?-!

_Fear. _

The word rang in my head. Fear… the old pressure and worry was such a foreign concept to me now, after seeing my dad like this. I didn't fear him anymore… now I, respected him. A man who made a complete change in his life like this… that was very respectable. But I still didn't love him. It would take a lot more than "turning his life around," so to speak, to make me love him after all he'd put me through as a child.

Just then, another realization hit me. If he had been bettering himself for a year or so, then why had he still been setting up blind dates for me? I asked him this, and he responded with a sigh. "Well, the truth is Marik, I _do_ still want grandchildren…" he admitted, "I was hoping that maybe you'd find a lady you liked, so I could get my wish…" he smiled weakly at Bakura, "But I see that isn't happening…"

"But…" I said, "You still sounded like your old self on the phone…"

My dad laughed nervously. "Yes, well… I wanted my new self to be a surprise, but only when I was all better… So I kept up my old act, since I knew you'd never visit me and therefore never see me like I am now…" his eyes turned sad, "Marik, I'm… I'm sorry, for all I put you through, for… your back…"

"It's okay," I said quickly, surprising everyone in the room, especially Bakura. "You're changing yourself…" I explained, "I'm happy for you dad."

He smiled, I could tell he was extremely happy that I was forgiving him. I probably wouldn't have forgiven him if I didn't see how… _hard_ he was trying, isn't coming over an addiction hard? Isn't getting over _insanity_ like I thought he had hard? And he was accepting me! That's gotta be hard for someone like him… He was really trying, and he was getting better… Just like Melvin.

I stood up, "I'll be right back, I have to go to the bathroom."

Dad nodded, "All right."

I walked into the bathroom and locked the door behind me, then I pulled out my phone and dialed a number. After a few seconds, it rang, and Ryou's voice came on, "Hey Marik, what's up? Are you done talking with your dad?"

"Um, not quite…" I say, "Listen you have to come over here."

"Why?" Ryou asked, his voice panicked, "Did something happen? Are either of you hurt?"

I laughed. "No, it's nothing like that… just come over here, with Melvin."

"Okay," Ryou said hesitantly, "_nothing_ bad happened?"

I smiled. "Nothing at all, I just really think you should come over."

"… All right, we'll be there in a few minutes."

I smiled. "Good! Bye Ryou."

"Bye Marik," he said before hanging up.

I looked at my phone. Thank goodness I was friends with Ryou, if I had tried getting Melvin over here that conversation would've lasted a lot longer.

I groaned inwardly when my phone started vibrating, the caller ID being "Melvin Idiotic Ishtar." Great, I'm gonna be in here a lot longer than I thought…

* * *

**Bakura**

Once Marik left for the bathroom, I was left alone with Mr. Ishtar, and to say it was awkward between us would be an understatement.

I mean, I had been hearing nothing but bad things about this guy. He beat his children, he kicked Melvin out of the house, he _carved_ into Marik's back (I'm still mad about that), and he was against gay couples…

And now, we find that he's a nice guy, he's horribly sorry for all that he's done, and that he's happy for us?

And think about what he thinks of me for goodness' sakes! I mean, he's been trying to set up his son with a _woman_ for who knows how long, and now a boy comes in and says he's getting married to his _son?_ He probably has absolutely no idea what to think of me either.

Ergo, I had no idea what to say to him…

"So," he started, probably to get rid of the awkward silence between us, "how long have you known Marik?"

"… A pretty long time…" I answered, unsure of what I should tell him.

He seemed to understand I was uncomfortable, as he asked, "Marik's told you a lot of bad things about me I presume?"

I nodded.

He sighed. "Well, I regret to say that they're probably all true… I assume you know about the carvings on his back?"

"… Yes," I said harshly, "and I'm sorry, but I don't forgive you for that."

He nodded in understanding. "I don't expect you to, I didn't expect Marik to either… I thought he'd hate me, but at least he'd see that I'm trying to change…"

"I'm surprised by that too," I said truthfully.

He chuckled. "How long have you and Marik been dating?" he asked curiously.

"Er…" I hesitated. How the hell should I answer that? The truth is we never "officially" dated, we just hung out… should I just say a few years since it'd be weird to say we've never been on a "date?" You know, come to think of it, we should probably go on our first date soon… I'm sure a lot of people are going to be asking for details and such. "A few years," I finally answered.

He stared at me, obviously having something on his mind, but not sure how to say it. "And you…" he said after a while, and I could tell he was uncomfortable, but about what? "And you…" I could see him swallow, "… _like_ him?"

My cheeks turned rosy. "Well… yes, it'd be kind of weird if I didn't seeing as we're getting married…"

Now the poor man seemed even _more_ uncomfortable. "I meant…" he said hesitantly. Beads of sweat were starting to come out of his forehead and he rubbed his hands together nervously, "I meant… _physically?_"

My face turned beat red. "Um…" _THIS IS SO AWKWARD!-!-!_ "Yes…"

"See, that's the part I have trouble understanding…" he admitted, looking away from me. "And Marik… He, feels the same…?"

If it's possible, I think my face turned even _more_ red. Damn it Marik, why did you have to leave?-! "I-I… think so…" I answered truthfully. I never really asked him… I'd assume so, considering we've made out before, and it'd kind of be hard to do that with someone you weren't attracted to…

Mr. Ishtar leaned back in his chair, his eyes cast upwards at the ceiling. "That's going to take some getting used to…" he said, "Sure, I can support him, but I really don't understand it…"

"It's hard for the older generation to," I told him, my face going back to it's usual, pale, color.

He sighed, putting his hands up to cover his eyes in the next second. "I just don't get how a man can find another man attractive…"

"It's because you've never had those feelings," I tried to explain, "it's okay if you don't get it, just… show Marik that you love and support him and all that stuff…"

Mr. Ishtar laughed. "You're not really an emotional type, are you Bakura?"

"Not really," I said before Marik came back in the room. He seemed annoyed at something… but at what?

He sat down next to me. "So," he asked, "what were you two talking about?"

I think both mine and Mr. Ishtar's faces turned red. "Oh…" I said, trying to be nonchalant, "Nothing really…"

I could tell Marik didn't buy it, and he asked, "Do I want to know?"

"Not really," I responded.

He sighed, but then his dad asked another question that caused everything to go awkward again. "So," his question started out, "which one of you… proposed…?" he asked.

We exchanged expressions. If we said that I proposed, I'm not quite sure how he'd handle it… I mean, he'd think that Marik was the… girl in this relationship, and it already takes some getting used to the fact that your son is gay, and to find out that he's the… less dominant one, we'll say, in the relationship… well, the man might have a heart attack or something. I don't know…

Just as Marik was about to answer, I interrupted with, "Marik did."

Marik looked at me quizzically, but I gave him a look that said, "Just trust me!" so he kept quiet.

The father actually seemed to brighten a little bit at this "truth." "Really?" he asked, "That's… good." It made me wonder what he thought of Marik…

"Yup," I kept up the act, "I was so surprised!" I managed to say convincingly.

He chuckled. "I'm… surprised too, considering all the pressure I put on you…"

Marik laughed nervously. "Yeah, well, Melvin's not the only rebellious one…"

It was silent for a minute, but the weird thing was… it wasn't awkward. It was actually comfortable, but then Mr. Ishtar ruined it when he said, "So when's the wedding?"

Me and Marik exchanged a glance. "We haven't really… decided," I said.

"We're still just trying to plan for it," Marik put in.

"I suggested it should be on the first day of spring," I glared at Marik in this next part, "but _Marik_ doesn't want an unexpected "spring shower" to ruin the day…"

Marik returned the glare. "Well, if _Bakura_ would agree to an _inside_ wedding, then that wouldn't be a problem."

"But having an inside wedding is so boring!" I complained, "Everyone feels trapped in a hot, stuffy, cramped room."

"At least the weather would stay the same! Outside the weather could change in the blink of an eye."

"We'd have tents and things! It's not like we'd be completely out in the open."

Marik shook his head. "I still say the wedding should be in October, fall is so perfect! Not too cold, not too hot, all the beautiful colors –"

"Leaves falling everywhere and landing in the food," I said with sarcasm.

"Again, if we were _inside,_ that wouldn't be a problem!"

I was about to retort, when I noticed Marik's dad trying not to laugh. "What's so funny?" I asked him.

He laughed openly after my question. "You two are just so… funny. Do you always argue like that?" he asked.

"Kind of," we answered in unison.

He laughed again. "I can see I won't have to worry about you two much." Before we could ask him what he meant, he asked, "What _have_ you decided on?"

"Absolutely nothing," I said with discontent, "so far Marik's turned down every one of my ideas!"

"Well, if any of your ideas were actually _good_…" Marik said quietly.

"Well I don't see you coming up with any ideas!" I yelled at him.

"Every idea I come up with you say is too "boring." "

"Because they are!"

Marik rolled his eyes. "The only thing we _have_ decided on is that I'm wearing black and you're wearing white."

"Oh yeah, _one thing_, that's _quite_ the accomplishment," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

Marik let out a frustrated noise. "I'm sorry you're not getting your way 'Kura, okay? But you can't just plan this thing yourself!"

"I _could_ if you'd let me," I said.

"Yeah, and you'd make sure it's full of stuff I'd hate –"

"I would not!" I insisted, "I would try to make it an actual _enjoyable_ wedding!"

Marik was about to say something when the doorbell rang. He smiled and stood up to answer it, but it made me wonder who it could be. I could tell Mr. Ishtar was wondering the same thing.

Soon, I heard Melvin's voice say, "This doesn't look like the site of a murder victim…"

"It looks much cleaner than I last remember it," Ryou commented.

I could tell by the expression on Marik's Dad's face that he knew who these people were, but what I didn't understand was the look of panic that was on his face. Maybe he was actually afraid of Melvin as well…? Or maybe he was afraid he wouldn't forgive him…

Either way, Ryou and Melvin walked in, and I could tell both of them were surprised at the sight of Mr. Ishtar (I really need to find out his bloody name soon…)

"Dad?" Melvin asked as if he knew he was wrong but was guessing anyways. Ryou didn't say anything, he just stared at him as if he was frozen, his mouth slightly open.

The father smiled sadly and said, "Hello… son…"

The air was silent once again, and at that time I caught Marik's eyes. _I thought they should see the changed him,_ his eyes said.

I nodded slightly. _It was a good idea in theory,_ I sent back, _but right now…_

_I know,_ his disappointed eyes said.

"Are you an alien?" Melvin's immature statement made everyone look at him dumbfounded. Everyone except Ryou, who still appeared to be frozen… did the last meeting with this man really scar him that much? He made it sound like it was no big deal…

Ishtar laughed. "No! I'm your father Melvin…"

Melvin's eyes hardened. "I thought I wasn't your son anymore," he said coldly.

Ishtar got quiet, then he said, "I'm sorry about that…"

Melvin just kept staring at his father, and then he said, "Okay, I need an explanation," he turned to Marik, "what the hell is going on?-!" he asked.

* * *

**Ryou**

Melvin's father just finished telling that after seeing how happy I'd made Melvin it made him rethink his life. He apologized to me many times about hurting me, and I said I forgave him for it. It really didn't hurt much, and it had no long-term effects on me. Currently, he was telling Melvin, "I'm sorry I kicked you out of the house… and possibly caused your…" he paused, unsure if he should say this next part, "… insanity."

Melvin waved the word away with his hand. "Don't sweat it, makes for a very interesting lifestyle," he smiled at me, realizing I was much quieter than usual, "right Ryou?"

I gave him a small smile, "Whatever makes you feel better Vinny."

He could tell I wasn't myself, that I was holding something back, but he wasn't sure how to ask about it, at least, he wasn't sure how in front of other people.

And I was holding something back, but you'll find out what that was later.

Mr. Ishtar looked at me, obviously sensing some hostility between me and him, but he wasn't sure how to address it either. What is it with you Ishtars and not knowing how to confront people? Are you all socially awkward? Even Bakura knows how to confront people. Well, most of the time anyways…

He looked at Marik, then Melvin, then Bakura, and finally his gaze ended and stayed on me. "Will you all forgive me for all I've done?" he asked, plain and simple, to the point.

Marik and Bakura exchanged glances before saying, "Yeah."

Melvin shrugged. "I suppose…"

When I didn't say anything everyone turned to look at me. I could feel their stares, their unasked questions. They were probably wondering why the "nice, forgiving" Ryou wasn't the first to say this man was forgiven.

I stared into the old man's eyes and said, "I'm sorry sir, but I don't forgive you."

I felt a little guilty when I saw how sad my statement made him, but not enough to forgive him. "Why?" he asked quietly.

Now I felt angry. I began to see red in my vision, almost like fire… funny, that's what Melvin says he sees when he goes off to psycho-land… "Why?" I asked harshly, "Why? Let's look over the basics shall we?" I said as tacked them off on my fingers, "You beat your children, you were drunk most days if not _all_, you threatened your children multiple times, you caused Melvin to go insane, you tried to kill one of your sons and when that didn't work you kicked him out of the house, and you carved into the other one's back! So I'm sorry, but that's too many offenses for me to just… just… forgive you like that!"

I could tell everyone was shocked they were hearing this from me. They probably expected me to forgive him for all he's done and praise him for trying to better himself. But I just can't… not for all he's done…

"Ryou," Melvin said, putting a hand on my shoulder, "are you okay?"

"No Melvin," I answered, looking at him, "No, I'm not. I admire that he's trying to change himself, and I'm glad you all forgive him, but I just can't!" I could feel angry tears threaten to glide down my cheeks, "This is the man that caused your insanity Melvin! Do you realize how much easier your life could have been if you weren't insane?"

"Ryou," Melvin said. I could tell he was a little lost, he's never seen me like this. "It's okay…"

"No it's not!" I screamed at him. Didn't he understand? He could have had such a better life! He wouldn't have ended up in jail… he wouldn't get so angry so quickly… his mind wouldn't be so messed up and twisted… didn't he understand?

Melvin stared at me for a minute before putting his face close to mine. "Wanna know the real reason I forgive him?" he asked me quietly.

I gave him a fierce stare, my anger not yet gone. "Yes."

Melvin smiled. "Because if I _wasn't_ insane, I probably would've never met you."

… You know, it's _really_ hard to stay mad when someone says something like that…

My face turns pink. "Th-that's ridiculous…" I said, looking away from him, "we still would've met…"

"No, we wouldn't have," Melvin insisted, "remember the first time we met? I had just gotten beat up by five people who had a grudge against me… you felt such pity for me that you went to help me without even asking any questions, you took care of me, tried to help me," he smiled kindly at me, "I thought you were a little angel sent to save me…

"After that you asked me what happened, and when I told you it was my fault you insisted that it wasn't, even after I told you all I'd done," he put his lips once inch away from mine. Damn it Melvin! I hate it when you do that!-! "Do you remember what you said to me?"

I huffed. " "Everyone makes mistakes, but you can fix mistakes. Sure, you can't change the past, but you can try to make a better future, a future where you won't make those mistakes anymore," " I quoted myself, "but that's different! You didn't try to kill your own _son_, you didn't try to carve into their back," I could feel tears threatening to fall again, "you didn't…"

"Ryou, I tried to kill a lot of people," Melvin told me. I closed my eyes – I always hated it when we talked about this… but I kind of brought it upon myself. "It pains me to admit, but I've done worse than my father… and yet you forgave me," he gave me an odd look then, "why do you forgive me Ryou?"

I looked down at the ground. I knew why I didn't forgive Melvin's father, and it looks like he knows why too… I just didn't want to admit it. "Because… I believed in you, I've seen how you changed –"

"You've seen how my father's changed as well," Melvin said, his next words confirming he _did_ know why I was so mad at Mr. Ishtar, "you just don't want to forgive him for what he's done to me, right?"

I looked back up at him. "Can you blame me?" I asked.

Melvin smiled brightly, "No," he said, "but I just find that so adorable~!" He lifted me off the floor and trapped me in a tight hug. "Ryou-chan doesn't like anyone who hurts me~! That's so sweet!"

I laugh. Leave it to Melvin to make me happy. "Put me down!" I screamed happily.

"No!" he said, tightening his hold on me, "I'm never letting you down ever!"

I tried to get out of it, but Melvin was just so strong! "Melvin!" I complained, but I was laughing, so it didn't have much effect.

Just then, I heard Mr. Ishtar laughing.

That was when Melvin put me down, and I turned to look at him. He was… laughing, at us I presumed. "What's so funny?" I asked.

He smiled at me. "It's just… you were so mad, and Melvin made you so happy…" he shook his head slightly, "I can understand why you don't forgive me, and that's all right," he smiled, "just… can you promise me one thing?"

I raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Make Melvin happy, like you're already doing."

I blinked at him. He… he's asking me to make Melvin happy? … I guess he really has changed. "Well, that should be the easiest task in the world," I said.

He laughed, and at that moment… I didn't really feel mad anymore. Melvin's points made sense… I just didn't _want_ to forgive him. But… someone like this, I suppose he deserves it. "Okay," I said, "I'll make him happy," I said as I smiled at Melvin, "and… I forgive you."

His face brightened at my words. "Thank you!"

I smiled, and all was silent between us. Then Bakura said, "I'd love to stay longer, but I think we should get going."

"Yeah," Marik agreed, "too much excitement for one day…"

Melvin smiled at his father. "I think me and dad should catch up more," he said.

"I should really continue planning for the wedding," I said.

Mr. Ishtar turned to me, "You're planning Marik's wedding?" he asked.

I blinked at him and immediately felt like hitting myself. That's right! He doesn't know me and Melvin are getting married!-!-! Wait a minute… he knows about Marik and Bakura's wedding? And he's perfectly fine with it? Dang, he did deserve to be forgiven… "Actually," I said, "I'm planning for… Melvin and mine's wedding."

His eyes widened. "You're getting married too?-!" he asked, looking at Melvin.

Melvin scrunched his eyebrows together. "Yeah, is that a problem?"

"No, it's just… Sorry son, but I don't really see you as the "marrying" type…"

Melvin narrowed his eyes. "What type _do_ you see me as?"

Mr. Ishtar looked uncomfortable. "Well… honestly, the "loose" type…"

Melvin started laughing, and then trapped me in a headlock. "My little angel here wants to keep our relationship pure still!" he said as he ruffled my hair, "I think he just loves teasing me…"

My face went red. "I do not!" I said, "And let me go!"

Melvin let me go and then kissed me on the cheek. "My little snowflake is all I need for the rest of my life~!" Melvin proclaimed happily, causing me to flush again and turn away from him. Dang it! Why does Melvin love seeing me blush so much?-! I swear he makes me blush every opportunity he gets!

Suddenly I heard Melvin's dad laughing again, and that really surprised me. I guess this guy really was okay with his two sons being gay now… Either that or he's really good at acting and just trying to be supportive, but either way shows signs of a good father really. "You two look so… cute together," he said with a shake of his head, "sorry, but that still seems strange to me…"

"You're not the only one…" Bakura grumbled. Again, I forgot they were here… oh geez, Bakura's probably mad at Melvin now for trapping me in a headlock and kissing me on the cheek, why doesn't he like Melvin? He's perfectly fine! Sure he used to be insane, but he's gotten so much better!-! I guess I just don't understand how he can forgive Marik's father and not like Melvin…

"Well, like I said before," Bakura said, "we'll be off, see you around." He then started heading towards the door.

Marik smiled at us all and waved. "Bye! And dad, I'll be sure to call you when we actually decide when the wedding will be!"

Mr. Ishtar smiled. "Great! I'll see you around son."

Then the two new love-birds left. I love that term, "love-birds." It sounds so funny!

Just then I was pushed onto the couch and Melvin sat down next to me, putting his arm around my shoulders in the next second. "So dad," he said, "anything you want to know about us?"

"… Um…" Mr. Ishtar said, "Well, I'd like to hear about anything you'd like to tell me."

Melvin's eye twinkled, and I immediately feared the worst. What if he let slip about his sweets…? That would be bad…

"Well!" Melvin began, "The first thing you should know is that Ryou is the kindest, cutest, most wonderful person in the world and I love him to death!"

I blushed and looked down at the floor. "Melvin!" I complained. I swear, if he's just going to make me blush throughout this entire talk with his father… well, there will be no sweets for him tonight, I can tell you that.

* * *

**Marik**

Bakura seemed to be pouting since we left my dad's house, and I had no idea why. "Hey," I said, poking him in the ribs, "what's wrong?"

Bakura let out a breath. "You realize your father thinks I'm the girl in this relationship, right?" he asked me.

I blinked at him and laughed. "Is _that_ why you told him I proposed?"

"Well…" 'Kura said, "I don't think he'd be very happy hearing his son _might_ be the less dominant one in the relationship."

I elbowed him, "I thought we were equal!"

"If I told your father that I proposed, do you think he'd see it that way?"

"… I suppose not…"

"There you go."

We kept walking along, and then I asked, "So you're willing to let my father see you as the uke?"

Bakura blushed lightly (again, he looks so cute when he blushes!) and looked away from me. "Well… I'm still not entirely sure how your father feels about our relationship… so… yes."

I smiled brightly and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks 'Kura~!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever," he grumbled, then he smirked, "but you owe me."

I raised an eyebrow. "How can I repay you?"

Bakura's smirk turned bigger. "I get to plan the honeymoon by myself."

I stared at him, my face slowly turning red. "H-honeymoon…?" I asked weakly.

Bakura chuckled. "Don't tell me you forgot about the honeymoon Marik? It's _traditional_," he threw my own word back at me.

"… What do you have in mind?" I asked.

Bakura laughed deviously. "Now now, that would ruin the surprise! Don't you worry your pretty little head about it Marik!"

I kept staring at him, very afraid of what he was planning now… Obviously he saw how worried I was, as he patted me on the back and said, "Oh, be happy Marik. We confronted your dad today! And he's totally fine with us! We didn't even have to fight him. Although to be honest, I was looking forward to a good fight…"

I laughed. "Well, sorry to crush your hopes and dreams 'Kura."

Bakura stuck his tongue out at me, but then he smiled… shyly? "You _are_ my hopes and dreams Marik…" he admitted, avoiding my eyes.

My cheeks grew hot. That… wow, Bakura doesn't usually say things like that… I hugged him tightly. "Well then, it looks like your hopes and dreams are going to be crushing you instead!"

Bakura laughed and hugged me back. That moment felt so… perfect. So warm and loving… nothing was going to tear us apart. Nothing.

Meeting my father today proved that.

* * *

Oh my gosh, it ended? It finally ended? Thank goodness! *dizzy* geez! This took me forever… do you like the plot twist of Marik's dad making a complete 180 turn around? :3 At first, I was planning this whole epic fight and confrontation scene, but then I thought of this and I was like, "OMgosh! This idea is awesome!" so I went with it XD

Tell me your favorite part please! I'm having trouble choosing mine… XDD Did you like the Deathshipping? I'm loving that pairing so much right now~! *hugs them* One other thing I really want to show you guys is Ryou and Melvin's date, 'cause I'm loving it~! XD I LOVE RYOU-CHAN~! XDD For some reason, I love how I made him in this... XDD

PLEASE REVIEW.

~~~{REVIEW REPLIES}~~~

**Bakkyy**: Glad you love it! =D Hope you liked this chapter as well! =) Thank you for reviewing ^^


End file.
